The chairman of committee investigation into the Vision Nine affair suggested in Tynwald that the Enterprise Minister should take responsibility and resign.

Michael Coleman said it wasn’t for the committee to state whether Laurence Skelly should continue as Minister.

But he cited the captain of the Titanic who had blamed no one but himself after the ship hit the iceberg and had stayed in the wheelhouse as it sank.

’It’s up to the people of the Isle of Man to set the personal standards of Ministers,’ he told the court.

’His grasp of such a flagship project was so light it failed to leave a mark as it trundled towards calamity like a steam train with no brakes.’

The 862-page report concludes that responsibility for the failure of the Vision Nine project lay primarily with Mr Skelly and his then chief executive Chris Corlett.

’Mr Corlett has already left the civil service for personal reasons. We can read into that whatever we may wish.’

Mr Coleman’s comments prompted Home Affairs Minister Bill Malarkey to remark: ’This is a witch hunt not a report.’

’If it was going to be a witch hunt I know who it would be and it would not be Mr Skelly,’ replied Mr Coleman.

A 10-year deal to appoint Vision Nine as a private promoter partner for the TT was approved by Tynwald in April 2016.

But just seven months later, the Council of Ministers pulled the plug following legal advice of the acting Attorney General.

That advice remains confidential. The contract with Vision Nine was never signed.

Mr Coleman said the island ’had dodged a bullet’.

’We spent five years working on this and what did we end up with? Nothing,’ he said.

The report revealed how a draft report was only circulated to the other departments at the end of April 2016. But when they raised concerns, the acting AG was brought in.

Mr Skelly said he ’categorically and unreservedly’ apologised on behalf of the department. But he said nothing about whether he should resign.

---