Hocus Pocus

Shambolic bunch, and so sad the Manx public are left wondering which talentless alternatives should be Buggins next. We need a public conversation on our governance structures, effectiveness of Tynwald and their relationship with a bloated unaccountable civil service.

Very true - where was the debate in Tynwald throughout 2022-23 about AGC incompetence and breakdown of IOMG good governance? Those swimming against the tide such as Callister, Christian, Wannenberg and Glover were either vilified by Tynwald investigations or politically shut down completely. Little wonder there is no check and balance when the other MHKs were all in the government tent. There was no public awareness because the press re-published IOMG propaganda almost verbatim without even asking the bloke with a camera for a quote when he was the one being SLAPPed. So the Manx government system isn't (on that metric) fit for purpose.

"In good faith" and "failures in good governance" in this case meant Wright having to present findings as dozy incompetence at AGC and IOMG. These events 100% deserved intense public scrutiny; which could have been avoided had civil servants and Ministers not deployed broom and carpet. They collectively sought to clamp down by consistently and unlawfully refusing to answer FOIs and DSARs in a timely and complete manner, even using DHSC money to pay Callin Wild to threaten a SLAPP against the bloke with a camera. What was being hidden from the public in 2023, we now are told by Wright, was AGC legal incompetence and organisational disfunction combined with wider IOMG failures in good governance. Not the finding of professional competence in government the public might expect. Wright and Brunner both even managed to re-write dispositive (and un-appealed) judicial findings of fact after hearing witness evidence on oath tested by cross-examination in public before the Tribunal. Theirs were IOMG commissioned £320k and £1.4m "reviews" with no power to compel witnesses or test evidence, conducted on an informal and confidential basis. Neither "review" received any co-operation from Dr R who had withdrawn in July 2023 because DHSC had not sent Brunner all her email folders - deleted. The truth or otherwise of these reviews is down to acceptance by political Tynwald vote. Thus history is re-written by the victors - add tropes about lessons learned etc. Bewildering, when Dr R only asked for her job back in the letter before claim first sent to Ashford. Is the Manx government system fit for purpose?

Expol £67k, Brunner £1.4m, Wright £320k. Your price of new carpets and a big broom. Trebles all round!

BMA - Dr Ranson had considered taking part in the Covid Review but having learned that key documents are not available to the Review and further documents have been deleted she is not willing to participate in what she considers is a sham that will not represent the truth of what occurred.1 Nov 2023 Brunner report - 7. Among those who gave evidence to the Review confidentially were Ms Magson, former CEO of the Department of Health and Social Care, and Dr Ranson, former Medical Director. The Review is grateful for involvement from them both, which has been of much assistance. It appears £1.5m gives a smoother whitewash finish than the measly £68k paid to Expol on "concocted" minutes.

UK inquiry is not a waste of time as Lady Hallet has used her legal powers to collect evidence without fear or favour. UK is getting to the inconvenient truths. IOMG chose a limp review without legal powers to oblige proper disclosure....remember how Lawrie Hooper's DHSC didn't comply with legal obligations to disclose key Covid records leading to punitive damages award in Ranson. For £1.4m Brunner will say lots of co-operation from IOMG, everyone worked hard in difficult circumstances, a few inevitable mistakes. But nothing to see here except my invoice for settlement. Ignore the fact that massive swathes of evidence (Magson, Ashford and Ranson emails (btw Magson used personal email account to do things off grid) was destroyed by IOMG.

Perhaps what is needed is a wider public debate on the general state of Manx democracy, and ineffective Tynwald. We have the CM who is not chosen by the public, whose program for government has not been mandated by Island public vote, heading up an executive arm which comprises about 80% of Tynwald members with virtually zero effective scrutiny. Ideal environment in which politicians like Hooper have freedom to flourish. Hooper's record eg his (yes he was the Minister party to litigation) Ranson defence based on "lies and more than one" and suffering punitive damages for "oppressive, arbitrary or unconstitutional action by the servants of the government"; the HSCC hour long "rant"; OFSTED reporting a child sold sex to buy drugs whilst in residential care without any evidence of escalation or intervention; the attempted SLAPP cover up by top civil servants on Paul Moulton paid for by DHSC public money; every one under Hooper's careful guidance as DHSC Minister. Oh yes, and everyone satisfied with how Manx Care is performing? Perhaps MHKs are only interested in the greasy pole and the public are too apathetic to care what is done in their name. What we need is more morality embedded in Manx institutions, not less...and for that reason alone the Bishop should stay.

As you are so totally right, then the NCA are wasting their time investigating them both. Anyway, it may all be too late for UK as the Spaniards apparently are about to try Barrowman and want to lock him up for fraud.

If this all means there is a predicate crime in UK, then have Barrowman and Mone committed POCA crimes here for laundering the proceeds? Answers to be found by asking the Constabulary and IOMFSA who knew all along and did not freeze the money when it was here.

We have an ineffectual Tynwald which is systemically incapable of challenging a corrupt government. An executive which in Ranson was adjudged (after full hearing of Minister Hooper's thoroughly dishonest defence..'lies and more than one' was the judicial finding) to be acting in an oppressive arbitrary and unconstitutional manner. Rather than remove the ecclesiastical ethics module from Tynwald, should we not be enhancing the Bishop's contribution?. Stripping the state of church (ethics) influence occurred in post WW2 communism....