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UK concerns are understandable - Bell

The Treasury Minister says it's natural the United Kingdom should have concerns about the financial well-being of the Isle of Man.

Allan Bell (pictured) says with overall constitutional responsibility for jurisdictions like the Island, the UK will want to know its systems are robust enough to withstand current economic pressures, and it won't be left to pick up the bill if they collapse.

However, he believes there are other thoughts behind the review, details of which have been published on the UK Treasury website.

On Manx Radio today he said:

"I think there will be a degree of envy in some quarters, because the Isle of Man's economic record has been superb over the last decade or more.

"We have been growing far faster than the UK, but I think an awful lot of it is driven by ignorance as well - ignorance in the sense of lack of knowledge of what the constitutional relationship is, how it works (and) how a small Island in the middle of the Irish Sea can have such a strong economy.

"There is a lack of understanding, in a general sense, of exactly how we function over here."

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