The island’s Attorney General wrote to Tynwald members warning they must not pre-judge the Mooir Vannin Wind Farm application or risk appearing biased.
Walter Wannenburg KC, said any minister who has made public statements supporting or rejecting the proposal prior to a formal decision “would need to declare a conflict and recuse themselves”.
The letter stresses that the decision on the first application under the Marine Infrastructure Management Act 2016 will likely fall after the general election.
It says the next Council of Ministers must decide “on the merits of the application and without any pre-determination”.
Review
Mr Wannenburg wrote: “It is established law that a decision is liable to review where the decision maker has either had regard for matters which ought not to have been taken into account or, conversely, has not had regard for issues which should have been taken into account.”
He added: “If a decision maker has made public statements which plainly support or reject this particular application prior to it falling for formal determination, the suggestion of pre-determination and/or appearance of bias would mean that they would need to declare a conflict and recuse themselves.”
However, Arbory, Castletown and Malew candidate Kirrie Jenkins rejected any suggestion of improper conduct.
She said: “If there’s one thing people know about me is that a letter from the AG‘s office isn’t going to shut me up – that horse has well and truly bolted!”
Ms Jenkins confirmed she is “already a principal stakeholder” in the proposal. She added: “Attempts at a ‘gagging order’ at this stage change nothing – transparency and accountability matter, and I won’t be intimidated into silence.”
Mark Firth, Tim Glover and Jeroen Wats have also declared their intention to seek election in Arbory, Castletown and Malew.
