Liberal Vannin MHK Kate Beecroft was accused of smearing the names of shareholders when she presented to Tynwald the findings of her research into the Sefton Group.
Mrs Beecroft (Douglas South) accused the Council of Ministers (CoMin) of making ‘a serious error of judgement’ in agreeing the £4.5 million loan and land purchase deal – a deal she branded the ‘biggest scandal the Isle of Man has ever seen’.
And she claimed Ministers would not have supported the bail-out if they had known what she had found out during just five days of research.
Mrs Beecroft presented a colour-coded plan purporting to the show the relationships between named shareholders and directors, transfer of shares and complex land transactions.
‘I’m not suggesting anything untoward going on – I’ve no way of knowing,’ she said.
She said her research showed that 74.19 per cent of shareholder capital was owned by just two individuals and five small groups. ‘This is not a local company, a national treasure that people like to make out. It’s owned and controlled by some of the biggest players in business,’ she said.
She said her research sent a clear message to CoMin that ‘this sort of wheeling and dealing has to stop’.
But her dossier prompted a stinging rebuke from Chief Minister Allan Bell.
He accused her of ‘denigrating, slurring and smearing’ the reputation of shareholders with her ‘narrow poisonous views’ and giving them no right of reply. ‘What a sad night this is,’ he said.
Treasury Minister Eddie Teare said shareholders could not defend themselves against her ‘innuendo and allegations’.
Acting Attorney General John Quinn said he was reluctant to speak out but felt he had to after Mrs Beecroft ‘cast aspersions’ against him by suggesting his actions while in his former role as legal advisor to the Sefton Group should be ‘scrutinised as a matter of urgency’.
In a statement to Isle of Man Newspapers this week, Mr Quinn said he had taken proper steps to distance himself from any involvement in the government support package as soon as he was appointed acting AG. He told Tynwald that all the transactions mentioned by Mrs Beecroft were detailed in the published accounts.
The Douglas South MHK’s motion that Tynwald should not approve CoMin’s action in respect of Sefton bail-out was rejected by 15 votes to seven in the House of Keys and five votes to one in LegCo.
CoMin has already passed the matter to the economic policy review committee for scrutiny - a point made by Speaker Steve Rodan who had suggested Mrs Beecroft’s motion was ‘premature’.