For Reference REPORT of the STANDING COMMITTEE on CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS

For Reference /vAl 0602z, 1 Not to be taken from this room REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF THE ISLE OF MAN REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERS THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF THE ISLE OF MAN • INTRODUCTION a 0 1. Terms of Reference of the Inquiry At its July 2000 sitting Tynwald Court resolved: "This hon Court - (1) regrets that the Crown has not, on this occasion, appointed as the next Lieutenant Governor a Manx person or a person of Manx descent, but acknowledges that the decision is one for the Crown to make; and (2) requests the Standing Committee on Constitutional Matters to consider the circumstances leading to the appointment of the Lieutenant Governor Designate not of Manx origin, contrary to the expressed wishes of Tynwald, and recommend a course of action which would be likely to meet those wishes". C/CONM/mlg 2. Evidence Written evidence was received from His Hon Deemster J W Corrin CBE; Sir Miles Walker CBE MHK; Sir David Omand KCB, Permanent Secretary at the Home Office; Hon D J Gelling MHK, enclosing a letter from Mr M Kermode, the chairman of Mec Vannin, addressed to him. Oral evidence was taken from His Hon Deemster J W Corrin CBE; Hon D J Gelling MHK and Sir Miles Walker CBE MHK. The nature of this enquiry is such that the oral evidence was taken in private and we consider • • that, in the main, it is not appropriate to publish the written evidence. 3. Scope of the Report We have sought to respond to the resolution of Tynwald Court by setting out the circumstances of the most recent appointment of a Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, as given in evidence to us, in the context of recent previous practice; we offer some conclusions on the most recent appointment procedure. • The future of the process of appointing the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man is best examined in the context of the changing constitutional • responsibilities of, on the one hand; the Lieutenant Governor, and on the other, the Isle of Man Government; and of the developing international interests and responsibilities of the Isle of Man. We offer recommendations on action which could be taken for the review and refinement of the present appointment procedure. 2 C/CONM/mig 4. Background and comparative information The appointment of a Lieutenant Governor for the Isle of Man is made by the Queen on the recommendation of the Home Secretary, as Privy Councillor with special responsibility for Crown Dependencies (HL Debs, WA col 181 3'd May 2000). The appointment process for the Lieutenant Governors of • Jersey and Guernsey is the same. The appointment is made by letters patent; the appointee receives instructions, also by letters patent. The letters patent of the present Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man are set out in Appendix 1. Since 1945, the Lieutenant Governors of the Isle of Man have been either retired members of the armed forces, or members or retired members of the colonial service or diplomatic service (HL Debs WA col 123, 5th June 2000). By contrast until 1947, when the garrisons were withdrawn, the Lieutenant Governors of • Jersey and Guernsey were military appointments, and their salaries and other emoluments were paid by the War Office; since that date, the Lieutenant Governors of Jersey and Guernsey have all been senior retired officers of the armed forces. The present salary and expenses paid to the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man are, respectively, £53,273 per annum, tax free, and £15, 282 per annum; in addition there are other emoluments, such as accommodation, a car and a driver (HL Debs WA col 59, 22'd May 2000). The present salaries of 3 C/CONM/m1g the Lieutenant Governors of Jersey and Guernsey are £67, 815 per annum; the present expense allowance and other emoluments of the Lieutenant Governors of Jersey and Guernsey have not been formally stated in the UK Parliament. The advertising and administrative costs of making the most recent appointment to the post of Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man has not been publicly stated in the UK Parliament. However, the costs of advertising the posts of Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, and of Jersey and Guernsey was, in total, £26,427, but it was stated that it was not possible • to identify the associated administrative costs of the appointments (ibid). APPOINTMENT OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: IMMEDIATE PAST PRACTICE 5. Introduction Drawing on the written and oral evidence of Sir Miles Walker, who was the Chief Minister during the relevant period, and the experience of members of the Committee who held ministerial posts during the same period, we have 4. • analysed the appointment process which was adopted in the appointment of the last two Lieutenant Governors. We consider this to be of particular significance as Sir Laurence Jones and Sir Timothy Daunt were appointed since the Isle of Man Government adopted a ministerial system. 4 C /CONM/mig 6. The appointment of Sir Laurence Jones a The line of communication for the appointment of Sir Laurence Jones was from the Home Office to the Governor of the day, Sir Laurence New. The Lieutenant Governor consulted the Executive Council through the Chief Minister, Sir Miles Walker. The Council received the names of the six short-listed candidates, three diplomats and three persons with a military background, but there had been no previous discussion with the Home Office about the field of applicants. • The Lieutenant Governor in an informal discussion with the Chief Minister indicated that Sir Laurence Jones was known to him and in his view would make a good Governor. The names and curricula vitae of the short-listed candidates were before the Council for one or two weeks, but other than the informal discussion between the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister, the Council received no suggestions or advice on the candidates. The Lieutenant Governor also undertook informal soundings from the Presiding Officers and the Deemsters on which of the six short-listed ,b candidates would be preferred, and may have consulted others unknown to the Chief Minister. Sir Miles could not recollect whether the Lieutenant Governor advised him of the outcome of these soundings. Having considered the short-listed candidates the Executive Council made a recommendation which was sent to the Home Office. The Chief Minister did not know whether the Lieutenant Governor sent a separate recommendation to the Home Office based on his informal soundings. 5 C/CON/vihnlg Later,..-the%Chi0,Miniter had the opportunity in London to meet • ; ,Sir Laurence Jones,' as the preferred Or favoured candidate, prior to his appointment being confirmed. The,Chief Minister, formed the impression that if he had advised the Home Office that the appointment of the chosen or preferred candidate was likely to be inimical to the Isle of Man, there would have been further consideration of the appointment. On the completion of the appointment process there was no formal evaluation in the Executive Council of the appointment procedure, or suggestion that it might be changed. The recollection of Sir Miles was that, as Chief Minister, he probably suggested to the Home Office that domestic constitutional development suggested that there might be greater involvement of the Isle of Man in the appointment procedure in the future. 7. Appointment of Sir Timothy Daunt The appointment process which led to the appointment of Sir Timothy Daunt as Lieutenant of the Isle of Man was, in respect of communications between the Isle of Man Government and the Home Office, essentially the same as the process which had led to the appointment of Sir Laurence Jones. The Lieutenant Governor of the day consulted the Chief Minister and, through him, the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers considered the short-list of candidates, again solely on the basis of the curricula vitae. 6 C/CONM/mig However, on this occasion, the Lieutenant Governor also convened a round- table meeting at which the Chief Minister, the Deemsters the Presiding Officers and the Chief Secretary were present to discuss the short-listed candidates. The Council of Ministers made a formal recommendation to the Home Office. It is not clear from the evidence which we received whether the Lieutenant Governor transmitted a recommendation, separate from that of the Council of Ministers, to the Home Office on the outcome of his round-table discussion. Again, the Chief Minister had an opportunity in London to meet Sir Timothy Daunt as the preferred or favoured candidate, prior to his appointment being confirmed. As with the appointment of Sir Laurence Jones, it was the impression of the Chief Minister that had he advised the Home Office that he considered the appointment of the candidate to be inimical to the Isle of Man, there would have been further consideration of the appointment. On this occasion there had been a request, prompted both by the Chief Minister and by the Council of Ministers, to meet Lady Daunt. This was resisted by the Home Office on the grounds that Sir Timothy was the candidate, and not his wife. As with the appointment of Sir Laurence Jones, after the appointment of Sir Timothy the Council of Ministers does not appear to have formally considered any revision of the appointment process. 7 C/CONM/m1g APPOINTMENT OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR; THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS IN 2000 8. The process which led to the appointment of Air Marshal Ian MacFadyen as the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man was substantially different from that adopted for the appointment of his immediate predecessors.

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