PP 2016/0073 STANDARDS AND MEMBERS INTERESTS’ COMMITTEE SECOND REPORT FOR THE SESSION 2015-2016 STANDARDS AND MEMBERS INTERESTS’ COMMITTEE SECOND REPORT FOR THE SESSION 2015-2016 Remit of the Committee - 1. There shall be a Standing Committee of the Court on Standards and Members' Interests. 2. The Committee shall be chaired by the Speaker of the House of Keys, and composed of the Members of the Management and Members' Standards Committee of the Keys, and two Members of the Council elected by that branch. 3. The Committee shall consider and may report upon any matter that may from time to time be referred to the Committee by the Court, or by a Member which relates to the conduct of a Member, with powers to take written and oral evidence pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of the Tynwald Proceedings Act 1876 as amended. 3A. Tynwald may, on the recommendation of the Committee, require a Member to apologize for inappropriate conduct. In cases where a Member refuses to do so, or apologizes in a way which is unacceptable in the view of the President, the Member should be suspended until he/she complies properly with the Order of Tynwald. 4. No matter shall be considered under paragraph 3 above which concerns words used in proceedings in Tynwald, or the meaning or implication of such words unless - (i) immediate objection to them has been taken under Standing Order 3.32(1) by the Member about whom the words have been used, and (ii) the President, after receiving a request from that Member, has decided in all the circumstances that it is appropriate exceptionally to bring the matter to the Committee's attention, or (iii) the President, after receiving a request from that Member who was absent from the Chamber when the words in question were used and who could not have taken objection to them under Standing Order 3.32(1), has decided in all the circumstances that it is appropriate exceptionally to bring the matter to the Committee's attention. 5. The Committee shall also consider and report on such standards and such privileges of the Court and of Members as have been, or in the future should be, recognised as necessary and desirable for the proper and effective discharge of the duties of the Court of Tynwald and its Members. 6. The Registrar of Members' Interests shall maintain a Register, to be known as the Register of Members' Interests. 7. The Committee shall from time to time, and subject to the approval of Tynwald, establish rules for the Register of Members' Interests, specifying the type of interests which must be registered, the manner in which the Register is to be kept, the time limits within which a Member must notify changes to it and the circumstances in which it is to be open to inspection by the public. 8. The Clerk of Tynwald shall be the Registrar of Members' Interests and shall be responsible to the Committee for maintaining the Register and for giving effect to the rules referred to in paragraph (7) above. The powers, privileges and immunities relating to the work of a committee of Tynwald are those conferred by sections 3 and 4 of the Tynwald Proceedings Act 1876, sections 1 to 4 of the Privileges of Tynwald (Publications) Act 1973 and sections 2 to 4 of the Tynwald Proceedings Act 1984. Committee Membership The Hon S C Rodan SHK (Garff) (Chairman) Hon RH Quayle MHK (Middle) Mr C R Robertshaw MHK (East Douglas) Mr D J Quirk MHK (Onchan) Mr T P Wild MLC Mr D C Cretney MLC Copies of this Report may be obtained from the Tynwald Library, Legislative Buildings, Finch Road, Douglas IM1 3PW (Tel 01624 685520) or may be consulted at www.tynwald.org.im All correspondence with regard to this Report should be addressed to the Clerk of Tynwald, Legislative Buildings, Finch Road, Douglas IM1 3PW. Table of Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................... 1 II. REFERRAL...................................................................................................... 3 III. INVESTIGATION EVIDENCE............................................................................. 4 IV. INVESTIGATION PROCESS .............................................................................. 5 V. ORAL EVIDENCE – THE ADDITIONAL WITNESS ...............................................12 VI. SUMMARY OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE REFERRAL.......................................15 VII. CONSIDERING THE EVIDENCE........................................................................16 LYING PART ONE: INFORMATION ABOUT THE REFERRAL OF THE THIRD CLERK TO DR MCANDRY 16 LYING PART TWO: MR HOUGHTON CLAIMED THAT THE DISCUSSION ON THE 30TH OCTOBER 2014 WAS CONFIDENTIAL SAVE FOR THE SPEAKER 18 LYING PART THREE: MR HOUGHTON GAVE THE CLERK A LETTER FROM HIMSELF AND MR WILD WHICH MR WILD HAD SAID HE DID NOT WANT TO SEND. 24 BULLYING PART ONE: MALICIOUS AND BULLYING COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE CLERK AND DEPUTY CLERK 32 BULLYING PART TWO: BULLYING MR WILD, THE CLERK AND DEPUTY CLERK 39 The Deputy Clerk ...........................................................................................................................39 The Clerk .......................................................................................................................................41 Mr Wild .........................................................................................................................................42 Mr Houghton’s Response..............................................................................................................43 The Speaker...................................................................................................................................44 UNWARRANTED INTERFERENCE IN STAFF MATTERS PART ONE: PERSONAL ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF ONE MEMBER OF STAFF 46 UNWARRANTED INTERFERENCE IN STAFF MATTERS PART TWO: PRECIPITATED THE RESIGNATION OF A MEMBER OF STAFF 51 VIII. CONDUCT OF MR HOUGHTON ......................................................................55 IX. CONSOLIDATED LIST OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...............56 ANNEX.................................................................................................................59 ORAL EVIDENCE ...................................................................................................69 23RD NOVEMBER 2015..........................................................................................71 EVIDENCE OF HON SC RODAN SHK 2ND DECEMBER 2015 ............................................................................................87 EVIDENCE OF MR RIS PHILLIPS, CLERK OF TYNWALD AND EVIDENCE OF DR JDC KING, DEPUTY CLERK OF TYNWALD 3RD DECEMBER 2015...........................................................................................111 EVIDENCE OF MR TP WILD MLC 9TH DECEMBER 2015...........................................................................................129 EVIDENCE OF MRS EM LAMBDEN, FORMER THIRD CLERK OF TYNWALD 18TH DECEMBER 2015.........................................................................................141 EVIDENCE OF MR JR HOUGHTON MHK WRITTEN EVIDENCE ...........................................................................................193 APPENDIX 1 .......................................................................................................195 LETTER DATED 20TH JULY 2015 REFERRING THE CONDUCT OF MR JR HOUGHTON MHK TO THE TYNWALD STANDARDS AND MEMBERS’ INTERESTS COMMITTEE APPENDIX 2 .......................................................................................................199 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE INVESTIGATION APPENDIX 3 .......................................................................................................203 EVIDENCE BUNDLE APPENDIX 3A.....................................................................................................285 ADDITIONS TO THE EVIDENCE BUNDLE APPENDIX 4 .......................................................................................................299 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR JR HOUGHTON MHK AND THE TYNWALD STANDARDS & MEMBERS’ INTERESTS COMMITTEE APPENDIX 5 .......................................................................................................385 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN (MEMBER OF STAFF A) AND THE TYNWALD STANDARDS & MEMBERS’ INTERESTS COMMITTEE APPENDIX 6 .......................................................................................................399 ADVICE PROVIDED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS TO THE TYNWALD STANDARDS & MEMBERS’ INTERESTS COMMITTEE To: The Hon Clare M Christian, President of Tynwald, and the Hon Council and Keys in Tynwald assembled STANDARDS AND MEMBERS INTERESTS’ COMMITTEE SECOND REPORT FOR THE SESSION 2015-2016 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. This report details the investigation this Committee has undertaken into the conduct of Mr JR Houghton MHK which was referred by Mr Speaker on behalf of the Tynwald Management Committee in July 20151. 2. It is alleged that Mr Houghton lied, bullied and engaged in unwarranted interference in a staff matter. These are the very serious allegations which this Committee has investigated. 3. This referral came about as a result of Mr Houghton’s actions in relation to a Clerk of Tynwald’s Office staffing matter, which took place between the end of October and December 2014, and his subsequent complaints about the Clerk of Tynwald and Deputy Clerk of Tynwald made in January 2015. 4. The Committee was very clear that this investigation should not revisit the original staffing matter or the subsequent