Tynwald report finds DoI staff lied

Commissioner for Administration investigated dispute over removal of vehicle

Tynwald's Commissioner for Administration has said staff at the Department of Infrastructure lied during a dispute over the removal of a vehicle.

Advocate Paul Beckett investigated after a motorist complained the department impounded their black Honda Civic from private land in June 2025.

Mr Beckett said his investigation found evidence of 'incompetence', 'bias', and 'turpitude'.

The report details how internal emails showed one officer wanted to 'lean on' the complainant and 'make it look like we're doing them a favour'.

Mr Beckett described this as 'evidence of lying and of morally questionable behaviour'.

The report, due to be laid before Tynwald in October, found the department did not know where the car was, failed to follow correct procedures, and gave the driver 'inconsistent explanations'.

Mr Beckett highlighted that 'written records appear to have been destroyed without first having been digitised', a key failure given the department later relied on unrecorded phone calls.

He also found the department gave contradictory reasons for removal, including claiming the land was adopted highway, private land with an unknown owned and that the vehicle was abandoned or a nuisance. 

He concluded there was 'no clear, lawful justification' for removal of the car.

You can find the full TCA report HERE.