TEMPERS FLARED in the Lower House yesterday over two documents that called into question the integrity of former Government ministers: the "missing" St Joseph Hospital report and an alleged letter alluded to by the Attorney-General.

The heated battle of words, which continued after the morning sitting of Parliament had been suspended, started when Attorney-General Freundel Stuart charged that Opposition MP George Payne had sought to direct legal files involving a public entity to his private law office when he was Minister of Public Works.

Stuart, in refuting a charge that the Government was now seeking to change the composition of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital's board to include Democratic Labour Party members, recalled that in 1994 "the then Minister of Public Works and Housing, the honourable member for St Andrew, had a letter sent to me at my (law) chambers at Lucas Street, Bridgetown, telling me that any work I was doing for the Barbados Water Authority should be sent to a company called George Payne and Company".

Stuart added that this occurred within three weeks of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) taking office, and he still had the letter today.

But Payne, rising on a point of order, called for Stuart's remarks to be struck from the record, and insisted he had never allowed his ministry to engage the services of anyone in his private law office while he was Minister of Public Works.

"That is not true, and I'm asking that those remarks be withdrawn because it is an attack on my integrity," Payne stated.

However, Speaker Michael Carrington said that in the circumstances of Stuart's allegation and Payne's point of order, he could not rule that Stuart's remarks be withdrawn.

Then Payne called for the Speaker to be consistent, noting that during last year's Estimates Debate, certain allegations were made and the ruling from the then Speaker was that those remarks be struck from the record until a particular letter was produced.

"That was the decision taken from the chair when the shoe was on the other foot . . . The chair has to be consistent with respect to the rules," Payne added, calling for the letter to be produced.

The Speaker said it seemed that Payne was bordering on calling the judgement and ruling of the chair into question, and stated: "I have made a ruling on that already."

Payne sat down, following which Stuart repeated the charge and insisted he had the letter.

On the St Joseph Hospital report, Stuart accused the last administration of hiding this document after it had failed to besmirch current President of the Senate Branford Taitt.

Describing Taitt as "one of the the best Ministers of Health Barbados has ever had", he said the BLP had sought to stain Taitt's name with a commission of enquiry, but "when the report came into them and they discovered that they had nothing that could incriminate or besmirch his reputation, they hid the report, and to this very day, ten years later, the report has not seen the light of day".

He said after dizzyingly large sums had been paid to hand-picked lawyers, to date Government did not know what the report stated or where it was.

Payne also asked that the comment about a "hidden" report be struck from the record, while fellow Opposition MP Ronald Toppin noted that another minister had said some time ago that the Attorney-General had the report.

The Speaker ruled that these were not points of order.

The tension continued after the Speaker left the Chamber, with Stuart and Payne exchanging heated words.