The People’s Campaign has accused Bob Richards, the Minister of Finance, of suppressing free speech and freedom of expression in launching a defamation case against Bermuda Public Services Union head Jason Hayward.

The lawsuit came after comments made by Mr Hayward on a ZBM broadcast on Monday, May 11, that was paid for by The People’s Campaign.

During the press conference, the minister was also criticised for singling out Mr Hayward who was said to have spoken on behalf of The People’s Campaign.

One Bermuda Alliance chairwoman Lynne Woolridge responded by denying the Bermuda Government was trying to suppress freedom of speech; she accused The People’s Campaign of trying to position Mr Hayward as a “victim”.

In June, ZBM issued a public apology for the broadcast and Mr Richards said he was not able to go into further details about the legal action.

In a press conference yesterday, The People’s Campaign’s Reverend Nicholas Tweed and Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert delivered a statement describing the act as “insidious” and “nothing less than a flagrant attack on one of the most fundamental rights of every human being, namely the right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression”.

Mr Tweed said: “Whenever such rights are threatened it constitutes an assault on the most basic rights in countries that purport to be democratic. The purpose of the show was to make public information that The People’s Campaign deemed to be in the public interest, specifically in regards to Government conduct surrounding the proposed development of the LF Wade International Airport.

“We should say at the outset that the singling out of Mr Jason Hayward in a shared presentation wherein Mr Hayward was representing the views and understanding of The People’s Campaign based solely upon information that was in our possession, is a direct assault upon the fundamental human right to free speech. We believe it to be an unconscionable, retaliatory act. Any action should be directed at The People’s Campaign not at a private individual, because at no time was Mr Hayward expressing a personal or private point of view.

“In addition at no time did Mr Hayward personally publish or otherwise make known information as a private individual but all information pertaining to the development of the airport was issued by The People’s Campaign and based upon documentation that was subsequently placed in the public domain and can be substantiated by evidence contained in documents that are now public.”

The People’s Campaign chairman, Mr Furbert, continued: “At no time did The People’s Campaign, and specifically Mr Jason Hayward, make any false statements in respect to the airport development and the respective role that the Government, its ministers, and civil servants played in the public presentation of the project. All statements that have been made, are statements that we believe to be based upon factual evidence, and are true, and can be corroborated by documentation that can be independently verified.”

Mr Furbert said that comments made on the show were not made with the intent or desire to malign, undermine, or otherwise damage the character of the minister but rather were made with respect to Mr Richards’s conduct as Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier.

Practices and policies referred to on the show were said to have been revealed in the documents obtained under the Pati Act in Canada, along with public statements made in Bermuda and widely reported in the media, and statements recorded on the official record of the House of Assembly. Responding in a statement yesterday evening, Ms Woolridge said: “There is no effort to suppress freedom of speech, and for the leaders of The People’s Campaign to say so is nothing more than an effort to mislead the public and position Jason Hayward as a victim.

“No one is impinging Mr Hayward’s right to free speech. But an action has been launched to hold him to account for the words he spoke.”

When Mr Richards was contacted for a response, he said: “The matter is before the courts and therefore sub judice. I have no comment at this time.”

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