Conduct of Mr Anderson

402 Pages·2014·6.43 MB·English

by  Joann Corkish

PP 2014/0003

STANDARDS AND MEMBERS’
INTERESTS COMMITTEE
FIRST REPORT FOR THE SESSION
2013-2014

Conduct of Mr Anderson

REPORT OF THE
STANDARDS AND MEMBERS’ INTERESTS COMMITTEE
FIRST REPORT FOR THE SESSION 2013-2014

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 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.
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 D C Cretney MHK (Douglas South)
Hon T M Crookall MHK (Peel)
Mr R H Quayle MHK (Middle)
Mr T P Wild MLC
Mr D M W Butt MLC

Copies of this Report may be obtained from the Tynwald Library, Legislative
Buildings, Finch Road, Douglas IM1 3PW (Tel [phone], Fax [phone]) 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.
TableofContents
I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1
II. THECOMPLAINT............................................................................................ 2
III. THEINQUIRY................................................................................................. 3
IV. THEEVIDENCE............................................................................................... 4
WERETHESTATEMENTSTRUE? 4
DIDTHEMINISTERBELIEVETHESTATEMENTSWERETRUE? 12
SHOULDTHEMINISTERHAVEDONEMORETOENSURETHATWHATHESAIDWASTRUE? 13
V. CONCLUSION................................................................................................15
VI. ANNEX.........................................................................................................19
ORALEVIDENCE...................................................................................................27
13TH NOVEMBER 2013 EVIDENCE OF MR S UPSDELL, MEDICAL DIRECTOR / CONSULTANT AT NOBLE’S
HOSPITAL 29
22ND NOVEMBER 2013 EVIDENCE OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: MRDAVIDKILLIP,CHIEFEXECUTIVE; MRS
LESLEYKEENAN,DEPUTYCHIEFEXECUTIVE; MRSBARBARASCOTT,HOSPITALMANAGER; MRNORMANMCGREGOR
EDWARDS, DIRECTOR OF HEALTHCARE DELIVERY; MR JONATHAN DAVIES, BUSINESS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
EXECUTIVE 51
29THNOVEMBER2013EVIDENCEOFDRWILLIAMVANDERMERWEANDDRGUYSISSONS 83
2NDDECEMBER2013EVIDENCEOFDRADRIANDASHFIELD 109
3RDDECEMBER2013EVIDENCEOFDRPRAKASHTHIAGARAJAN 119
13THDECEMBER2013EVIDENCEOFMRDAVIDANDERSON 133
WRITTENEVIDENCE...........................................................................................151
APPENDIX1LETTERFROMMRDIVERSTOMRANDERSON27THJUNE2013 153
APPENDIX2LETTERFROMMRANDERSONTOMRSPEAKER1STJULY2013 159
APPENDIX 3 EMAIL FROM MR JONATHAN DAVIES TO MR PHILLIPS WITH ATTACHED INTERVIEW NOTES
15THJULY2013 163
APPENDIX 4 LETTER OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FROM MR SPEAKER TO CONSULTANTS 12TH
AUGUST2013 169
APPENDIX 5 LETTER FROM DR VAN DER MERWE WITH ATTACHED EMAIL TO MR DIVERS 13TH AUGUST
2013 173
APPENDIX6RESPONSEFROMDRBLAYNEY15THAUGUST2013 181
APPENDIX7RESPONSEFROMDRDASHFIELD18THAUGUST2013 185
APPENDIX8RESPONSEFROMMRDIVERS19THAUGUST2013 189
APPENDIX9RESPONSEFROMDRSISSONS20THAUGUST2013 193
APPENDIX10RESPONSEFROMDRMADON30THAUGUST2013 197
APPENDIX11RESPONSEFROMDRMARSHALL9THSEPTEMBER2013 201
APPENDIX12RESPONSEFROMDRLLOYD10THSEPTEMBER2013 205
APPENDIX13RESPONSEFROMDRTIBITANZL10THSEPTEMBER2013 209
APPENDIX14RESPONSEFROMDRTHIAGARAJAN19THAUGUST2013 213
APPENDIX15LETTERFROMMRANDERSON14THOCTOBER2013 217
APPENDIX 16 EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN DR VAN DER MERWE AND MR UPSDELL 15TH
OCTOBER2012 223
APPENDIX17EMAILCORRESPONDENCEBETWEEN DRVANDERMERWEANDMRKILLIP17THOCTOBER
2012 227
APPENDIX18EMAILFROMMRUPSDELLTODRTHIAGARAJAN29THMAY2013 231
APPENDIX 19 EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR UPSDELL AND DR TIBITANZL, COPIED TO DR
THIAGARAJAN3RDDECEMBER2013 235
APPENDIX 20 LETTER FROM THE MEDICAL PROTECTION SOCIETY TO DR THIAGARAJAN 26TH OCTOBER
2012 241
APPENDIX 21 LETTER OF REQUEST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION FROM MR PHILLIPS TO CONSULTANTS
13THNOVEMBER2013 247
APPENDIX22RESPONSEFROMDRVANDERMERWE14THNOVEMBER2013 251
APPENDIX23RESPONSEFROMMRUPSDELL15THNOVEMBER2013 255
APPENDIX24RESPONSEFROMDRTHIAGARAJAN15THNOVEMBER2013 263
APPENDIX25RESPONSEFROMDRTIBITANZL18THNOVEMBER2013 291
APPENDIX26RESPONSEFROMDRSISSONS19THNOVEMBER2013 295
APPENDIX27RESPONSEFROMDRLLOYD20THNOVEMBER2013 299
APPENDIX28RESPONSEFROMDRMADON20THNOVEMBER2013 303
APPENDIX 29 LETTER FROM THE MEDICAL PROTECTION SOCIETY TO MR PHILLIPS 19TH NOVEMBER
2013 307
APPENDIX30RESPONSEFROMDRBLAYNEY21STNOVEMBER2013 311
APPENDIX31RESPONSEFROMDRDASHFIELD22NDNOVEMBER2013 317
APPENDIX32SUBMISSIONFROMDRBLAYNEY27THNOVEMBER2013 321
APPENDIX33SUBMISSIONFROMDRVANDERMERWE27THNOVEMBER2013 363
APPENDIX34SUBMISSIONFROMDRKISHORERECEIVED9THDECEMBER2013 377
To: The Hon Clare M Christian, President of Tynwald,
and the Hon Council and Keys in Tynwald assembled

REPORT OF THE
STANDARDS AND MEMBERS’ INTERESTS COMMITTEE
FIRST REPORT FOR THE SESSION 2013-2014
Conduct of Mr Anderson

I. INTRODUCTION
1. This Report is about an investigation into whether a reply by Mr Anderson in the
House of Keys on 11th June 2013 and a subsequent Personal Statement in the
House of Keys of 25th June 2013 were true.
2. Members are personally responsible for the statements they make in Tynwald
and its branches. This applies to Ministers answering questions from Members as
well as when making formal Personal Statements.
3. The Committee asked itself three central questions:
 Were the statements true?
 If they were not true, did the Minister believe that they were true?
 If they were not, should the Minister have done more to ensure that what
he said was true?

1
II. THE COMPLAINT
4. In October 2012 ten consultants wrote a letter to the Medical Director of Noble’s
Hospital expressing serious concerns about patient care. On 11th June 2013 Mr
Anderson, answering questions as Minister for Health, referred to this letter and
said:
As the Hon. Member is aware, some of those consultants subsequently
withdrew their support for that letter because they believed it had overstepped
the mark and there were other processes which they could have gone down in
place to relay their concerns to management about clinical areas of concern.1
5. This statement was challenged by Mr Divers, one of the consultants who signed
the letter, among other places in an e-mail of 12th June to the Minister – copied
to Isle of Man Newspapers and Manx Radio. Subsequently, Mr Anderson made
a Personal Statement in the House of Keys on 25th June as follows:
I have never stated that any of the 10 consultants who signed the letter to the
Medical Director of Noble’s Hospital in October last year have retracted their
concerns about patient safety. I have stated that some of the original
signatories of the letter withdrew their support for the letter, by which I meant
that they had later acknowledged that signing this letter was not the most
appropriate way of raising their concerns at that time. There are established
mechanisms in the Hospital for reporting incidents that could have or did lead
to harm, and which all members of staff have a contractual and professional
duty to use.2
6. This further statement was challenged by Mr Divers in a letter to Mr Anderson of
27th June. Mr Divers says in that letter:
I told you that I had clarified with 9 of the ten signatories, the tenth was
currently on annual leave, and all confirmed that they had not withdrawn their
support for the letter as you suggested.3
7. In response to the considerable disquiet expressed among Members of Tynwald
and others about Mr Anderson's position and the conflict between him and Mr
Divers in relation to the continued support for the letter, on 1st July 2013 Mr

1 See House of Keys Hansard, 11th June 2013 set out in Annex below; this had been referred to in
newspaper reports
2 See House of Keys Hansard, 25th June 2013 set out in Annex below
3 Letter to Mr Anderson from Mr Divers, 27th June 2013 – Appendix 1
2
Anderson referred the matter of his conduct to the Tynwald Standards and
Members’ Interests Committee under paragraph 4.3 of the Schedule to the
Tynwald Standing Orders to enable it to enquire into the truth of the matter and
report as necessary, once it had carried out its investigation.
8. Mr Anderson said in his letter:
I would like the opportunity to establish that I have not misled anyone and that
my statements in Tynwald and the House were true.4
9. The Committee met on 15th July to consider Mr Anderson’s case and agreed to
inquire into the matter of the statements made by Mr Anderson in Tynwald
Court and in the House of Keys and to establish whether they were true or false
and, if they were false, whether Mr Anderson knowingly misled Tynwald Court
and the House of Keys.
10. The House of Keys Members, who are part of the Tynwald Standards Committee
ex officio as members of the House of Keys Management and Members’
Standards Committee, agreed that, as the House of Keys Management and
Members’ Standards Committee, they would refer the matter of Mr Anderson’s
statement in the Keys to the Tynwald Committee for examination, since the
statements in the House of Keys had also been raised in Tynwald Court. There
was no reason for both Committees to investigate the same issues.
11. Mr Butt is a member of the Department of Health; he recused himself from the
inquiry. The Committee noted that Mr Crookall had worked closely with Mr
Anderson recently, but that he was not thereby conflicted.

III. THE INQUIRY
12. As a first step, the Committee wrote to the relevant consultants to ask them if
the Personal Statement of 25th June 2013 was true.5 Their replies are printed in
the Appendices to this Report.6
13. We received a further letter from Mr Anderson in October.7 In the light of oral
evidence from Mr Upsdell, we wrote a further letter to all the consultants on 13th

4 Letter Mr Anderson 1st July 2013 – Appendix 2
5 Letter from the Speaker dated 12th August 2013 – Appendix 4
6 See Appendices 5-14
3
November 2013.8 We received replies from all but one of them.9 We also
received written evidence from Dr Kishore, Director of Public Health.10
14. We took oral evidence from:
 Mr Stephen Upsdell, Medical Director;
 Mr David Killip, Chief Executive, Mrs Lesley Keenan, Deputy Chief Executive,
Mrs Barbara Scott, Hospital Manager; Mr Norman McGregor Edwards,
Director of Healthcare Delivery; and Mr Jonathan Davies, Business and Public
Relations Executive, Department of Health;
 Dr Sissons and Dr van der Merwe;
 Dr Dashfield;
 Dr Thiagarajan; and
 Mr Anderson.
We are grateful to all those who gave evidence. The oral evidence was given in
private because of the personal nature of the inquiry but the Committee is now
publishing the evidence in its entirety.

IV. THE EVIDENCE
Were the statements true?
15. The first question that we addressed was whether Minister Anderson’s
statements on 11th June and on 25th June were correct. Had some of the original
signatories of the letter withdrawn their support for the letter, by later
acknowledging that signing this letter was not the most appropriate way of
raising their concerns at that time?
16. As mentioned above, the Chairman of the Committee wrote to the ten
signatories of the October 2012 letter on 12th August 2013 and asked them to
confirm whether they at any time withdrew their support for the letter in the
manner described by the Minister in his statements of 11th and 25th June 2013.

7 See Appendix 15
8 See Appendix 21
9 See Appendices 22-28 and 30-31
10 See Appendix 34
4