A former MHK has labelled the Attorney General’s Chambers an overly powerful and “dangerous controlling body” during a hearing on government reform.
Giving evidence to a Tynwald committee, Chris Robertshaw said the AG’s role in advising all parts of government creates a “singularity of opinion” that is “just awful”.
He stated this power is “being misused” and that the situation “frightens me”.
Offload
Mr Robertshaw argued that the current setup allows government departments to offload contentious issues to the AG’s office “at no cost to the department”.
He claimed a “determination on the part of the AGs department right now to undermine” the Employment and Equality Tribunal by making cases “as complicated as possible” to “frighten the whistleblower or the complainant off”.
This issue has also been raised by a tribunal chairman who criticised recent government tactics.
He proposed specific reforms, saying, “the first thing I would do is move the prosecution service out” and “revise the role of the Solicitor General so that that was a totally independent advice service”.
When asked by Chair Tanya August-Phillips if this was the culture of the entire chambers, Mr Robertshaw said “the culture is going to be significantly influenced by the will and determination of the AG”.
In a later exchange, Lawrie Hooper cautioned that creating separate legal advisors for members could lead to Tynwald Court becoming a forum where “my lawyer says this, and your lawyer says that,” asking non-lawyers to make legal judgments.