Department of Infrastructure interference 'unacceptable' - report
A new report claims the Island's former airport director was told by a minister not to attend a committee hearing where he was due to appear as a witness.
The Economic Policy Review Committee was due to hold an an oral evidence session with Gary Cobb on 11 October, but was cancelled at the last minute.
Less than 24 hours before the hearing Mr Cobb was urged, via email, to advise the committee that he would be unable to attend.
This, the email states, was due to the then-Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall, who was due to attend the session alongside Mr Cobb, having accepted another 'calendar commitment'.
Without political representation his attendance would be 'inappropriate', Mr Cobb was told.
The committee was obliged to cancel the hearing and says the handling of this matter by the Department of Infrastructure was 'unacceptable and arguably a contempt of Tynwald Court'.
Gary Cobb served as the Director of Ronaldsway Airport in August 2022 and announced his pending departure in August 2024, staying in the role for 'the next few months'.
Two weeks prior to the scheduled hearing the Department of Infrastructure questioned whether the minister and chief officer would be able to attend alongside Mr Cobb.
This matter, the committee says, was discussed at a meeting held on 30 September 2024.
It says 'it was determined that, while the minister and CO would be welcome to attend in the public gallery, they should not sit alongside the airport director as witnesses, for the reason that Mr Cobb was about to leave the Department and the best use of time, in our view, was to hear from him alone.'
This was confirmed by the Clerk of Tynwald in an email included in the report:
Mishandling
The committee concludes: 'The handling of this matter by the Department of Infrastructure was unacceptable.
'It was a discourtesy to this Committee and arguably a contempt of Tynwald Court.
'As a result of the Department’s mishandling of this matter, a valuable opportunity has been lost to obtain to capture the experience of an outgoing Airport Director for benefit of the parliamentary record.
'If the Department had wished the Committee to reconsider its position of inviting the Airport Director to appear alone, such a request could and should have been made well in advance of the intended date of the hearing.
'In fact no such request was made.
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