Premier Danny Williams has again publicly criticized the workings of the Cameron inquiry.

In an appearance on a local cable television program Tuesday evening, the premier criticized the behaviour of inquiry lawyers Bern Coffey and Sandra Chaytor.

"I've seen a pattern here where commission counsel are basically trying to take witnesses so far as to embarrass them," Williams said on the Rogers TV program, Out of the Fog.

Williams also said he had concerns about the amount of legal fees the lawyers are being paid.

"Those costs are considerable, so we have the responsibility to go back to the commissioner and ask for the justification for those kinds of expenses," he said.

Williams has repeatedly criticized Coffey and Chaytor's conduct at the inquiry, and has been scolded by John Gomery, the former Quebec justice who oversaw the commission of inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal.

In May, Williams sparked an uproar when he said the Cameron inquiry was using "inquisitorial methods" and had an overly aggressive tone.

At the time, Gomery told CBC News the premier was out of line.

"It's quite inappropriate to criticize an inquiry which is, after all, doing what it was asked to do, which is to get at the truth," Gomery said. "Sometimes the truth is a little bit embarrassing, and sometimes the truth hurts. It shouldn't be criticized for doing what it is mandated to do."

Provincial Justice Minister Jerome Kennedy came to the premier's defence Wednesday.

"Just apply common sense here," Kennedy said. "$93,000 for one law firm in one month, $67,000 dollars for another law firm in one month. That's $160,000. "

Kennedy said the legal bills for the inquiry so far total $1.4 million.

He said compared with other public inquiries, those costs are high, and he has written Justice Margaret Cameron, head of the inquiry, outlining his concerns.

Williams was out of the country Wednesday and unavailable for comment.