Since the revelations, Attorney-General Jeremy Mathews is considering re-opening the inquest, which found the two men died accidentally.

Mr Ford himself is prevented from revealing anything about the case by an injunction granted in the High Court to China Light and Power, part owners of the power station with the Exxon oil conglomerate.

Last night Mr Ford spoke for the first time about the problems of dealing with the injunction. And he revealed he flew to Hong Kong last month from his holiday home in France, but then found he could not even discuss the case with his lawyer.

''When I heard there was a Hong Kong order I left my wife and children in France to return to Hong Kong to fight the action,'' he said.

''I have spoken to a solicitor who, upon seeing the order, said he could hardly advise me, given the swingeing terms of the order.

''I understand the same applies to anyone else seeking information from me.'' Mr Ford described the injunction as an ''absolute gagging order'' and said he could discuss no other topics without being in breach of the law.

''Until something is done about the order - it is either altered or discharged - it is absolute,'' he said.

Solicitor Neville Watkins will appear in a chambers hearing tomorrow to try to have the injunction relaxed to allow him to seek instructions from Mr Ford and to receive relevant documents from his client.

Under the conditions of the injunction, Mr Ford cannot disclose any information obtained while he acted for CLP.

It makes it virtually impossible for the police to interview Mr Ford if an investigation is launched, or for the barrister to appear as a witness if the inquest was re-opened.

Mr Ford's suit, filed in a Texas court, alleges CLP and its Castle Peak Power Company (CAPCO) partner, Exxon Energy Ltd, deliberately failed to supply the Hong Kong coroner and the police with internal reports which cast doubt on the expressed cause of the explosion.

Mr Ford, 51, left Hong Kong last Saturday and returned to his family in France, where he said he would remain until the situation changed.

''I'll return to Hong Kong as soon as it's necessary for me to return and as soon as I am able to do so,'' he said. ''If they want to lift the order it puts a different complexion on it.'' CLP admitted for the first time on Friday that two versions of an inquiry report into the explosion at the Castle Peak power station last year - a Red report and a Blue report - do exist.

But the company insisted there was nothing sinister about the compiling of a secret second report, adding it would not be released to the coroner even if the inquest was re-opened.

A spokesman yesterday said the so-called Blue report would ''not be published'', and it would not have been given to Mr Mathews.

''Based on legal advice we will claim privilege, and I don't think we will change this. It will not be made public. We promised our staff,'' he said.

Mr Watkins said he would not respond to the allegations made by CLP on Friday.

''The energies of myself and Mr Ford's legal team will be solely directed towards presenting Mr Ford's case to the court to the best of our abilities. There is a hearing on Monday when the process will begin,'' he said.

Mr Ford's US lawyer, Stuart Speiser maintained the Hong Kong barrister stood by all the allegations made in the Texas litigation.

Legislator Martin Lee Chu-ming last night called for the inquest, which ended on May 27 with a unanimous verdict of accidental death, to be re-opened immediately by the Attorney-General following the revelations of new information.

''As a legislator I would like to see all these things thrashed out in public. I am calling on the Attorney-General to come to a decision on Monday to re-open the inquest,'' he said.

''At the same time I would urge the Government to look at all the surrounding circumstances of the case to see why the Blue report was not produced to the coroner [during the inquest].'' Mr Mathews was looking into the legal aspects of the injunction and the acknowledgment of the Blue report by CLP, a Legal Department spokeswoman revealed.

''These are the two areas, among other things that he is looking into,'' she said last night.

''At this stage the Blue report is governed by the injunction order. It is not his authority to demand to see the Blue report because of the injunction.'' A law expert last night maintained the injunction breached the Bill of Rights.

Dr Nihal Jayawickrama, a senior lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Hong Kong, said the injunction went against Article 10 of the Bill of Rights as it did not allow Mr Ford equal rights.

''All persons shall be equal before the court,' he said.

''Flowing from that right of equality is the right of access to the courts on an equal footing and, for that purpose, the right to consult a lawyer of his own choice.

''There is no equality if one party can choose a lawyer and the other party is prevented from access to the lawyer of his choice.''