Isle of Man’s chief minister on his ‘Howard o-clock’ cult movement and ‘bemusement’ at PM’s undersea roundabout
“It’s Howard o’clock” has become a slogan used on swimsuits, t-shirts, bags, mugs, bottles of wine and, even, turned into a monopoly-style drinking game.
But while Isle of Man chief minister Howard Quayle might have become an almost cult-like personality during the COVID crisis, he was also working 20 hour days, scrambling to purchase an oxygen-generating plant, and taking the “hardest decisions in my life”.
As he prepares to step down from his role next month, Mr Quayle also spoke to Sky News about the island’s strict coronavirus quarantine rules – which led to some people being imprisoned – and the effect of Brexit on the Isle of Man.
“At ‘Howard o’clock’ at 4pm every day, people would stop, get a drink and sit and listen to the briefings to let them know what was going on,” he said, as the chief minister explained how his televised news conferences gripped the Isle of Man’s 85,000-strong population last year.
The 54-year-old described the “bizarre” notion of people now wanting selfies with him, as the number of people who now recognise him on the island has rocketed, but also how he was “delighted” at the “community spirit” that was generated in the fight against coronavirus.
In March 2020, as COVID struck the world, Mr Quayle was utilising the Isle of Man’s engineering sector to leverage contacts around the world in order to secure PPE, while he faced a dilemma over ensuring the island did not run short of oxygen.
“We had always brought in our oxygen in bulk – a container or tanker would come over on a boat and fill up our holding tanks,” he said.
“That would last us a fortnight in normal times for our hospital. But, obviously with COVID we were under the impression we needed a shedload more.”
With a fear that supplies could be interrupted – as well as the thought a tanker journeying to and from the Isle of Man might have supplied four or five hospitals in the UK during the same time – Mr Quayle moved to buy the last oxygen-generating plant in Britain.
“If I hadn’t bought it by lunchtime, it was going to go to the Nightingale hospital in London,” he added.
The Isle of Man has had more than 7,000 COVID cases and 48 deaths
The next challenge was to build a shed in which to store the plant, as well as create a hospital unit ready to accept COVID patients. And, later, a testing centre was established at the island’s famous TT grandstand.
But there were also tough actions to be taken.
“One of the hardest decisions of my life was stopping people coming back to the island who were island residents,” Mr Quayle said.
“We’d given them warnings, we’d told them ‘get home, we’re going to be shutting shortly’.
“Some didn’t heed the warnings and we did shut down. But once we’d eliminated COVID, we were the first place in the British Isles – if not Europe – to open up internally with no restrictions.”
Until January this year, residents on the Isle of Man enjoyed a freedom to their lives that those in the UK didn’t, but “somebody broke the rules, got in, and we had to lockdown again”.
That freedom was, in part, provided by the taking of other robust decisions.
“If you broke our quarantine rules, if you put people’s lives at risk and you were caught, you went to prison,” Mr Quayle said.
He admitted that the handing out of prison sentences caused a degree of outrage, including when a group of welders from Newcastle were caught in a supermarket when they were supposed to be isolating.
How were they caught? Because they “went in there wearing masks” when the rest of the Isle of Man’s population had no requirement to, due to their zero number of cases.
Boris Johnson is purported to want a roundabout under the Isle of Man
Although the Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency sitting in the Irish Sea, the island was “treated as if we were in Coventry or Cornwall” when it came to the coronavirus crisis, which has seen more than 7,000 cases and 48 deaths on the island.
Mr Quayle explained that the relationship between the island and London “really improved dramatically” following Brexit, even despite the chaos that was occurring in Westminster after the 2016 referendum.
“We were lucky that we were getting information really quickly – historically that hasn’t always been the case,” he said.
“The ability for our offices to speak to their UK counterparts and discuss problems and get information back – so that we can prepare our legislation to make sure we’re compliant and get our industries ready for whatever’s going to happen – is the best it’s ever been.
“We don’t want to slip back to the old way.”
The Isle of Man government now enjoys a wide range of relationships with departments across Whitehall, rather than having just one relationship with their “godparents” in the Ministry of Justice, which formally manages the UK’s relationship with the crown dependencies.
However, a closer relationship with Westminster doesn’t appear to stretch to all aspects of UK government thinking.
Mr Quayle said his government “had no involvement whatsoever” in Boris Johnson’s purported plan for road tunnels between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to conjoin in an underground roundabout beneath the Isle of Man.
“We looked upon it with a level of bemusement!,” he admitted.
He added it “would have been nice to have that connectivity” but doubted whether the level of vehicle traffic would make such a project economically viable.
“It was a little bit frustrating that people just hadn’t thought it through – it was a good soundbite, but I never thought it was going to happen,” Mr Quayle said.
“We have our regular flights, we have our ferry service, it would have been nice to have but I couldn’t see the British taxpayer getting a return.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to get bang for your buck.”
There are numerous dark sky sites on the island
But while Brexit may have brought benefits, recent staff shortages – especially in hospitality – on the Isle of Man are “probably an element” of the UK’s exit from the EU, coupled with the historically low unemployment rate on the island.
“We need to attract more people to come to the island and that’s something we’re working on,” Mr Quayle said.
“We help, we offer grants and things to 20-40-year-olds, we’re looking to attract entrepreneurs.”
And he touted the island’s countryside, with a UNESCO status as a biosphere region; along with its numerous dark sky sites for galaxy-gazing, low crime rates, and a recent boost to internet speeds, as pull factors for those in the UK who now find themselves mainly working remotely.
“We had an IT company who relocated to the island and we didn’t know how that would go – it went exceptionally well,” he said.
“Because people who were working on software would go home and within 10 minutes they could be on their mountain bikes in a plantation.”
But Mr Quayle, who is standing down next month after the island’s upcoming general election, will leave a decision on whether the Isle of Man will copy the UK in taking Afghan refugees, following Afghanistan’s capture by the Taliban, to whoever succeeds him as chief minister.
So, as his five-year term as chief minister comes to an end, are there any regrets?
“I’ve given it my best, you’re always going to make mistakes, I’m not perfect,” he said.
“Everything I’ve done has always been, in my head, what’s the best I could do for the island so I don’t have any regrets.
“With COVID, hindsight is a wonderful thing and, if we’d shut down a week earlier, we would have had even less cases.”
But he added: “There was no manual. We were all making it up, in all jurisdictions, as we were going along.”
Politics
Chief rabbi condemns BBC’s ‘mishandled response’ to anti-IDF chanting at Glastonbury – as Bob Vylan issue new statement
The chief rabbi has described the BBC’s response to anti-IDF chanting at Glastonbury as “belated and mishandled” – as the punk-rap duo involved, Bob Vylan, said the UK government needed to talk about its “criminal inaction”.
Sir Ephraim Mirvis said “vile Jew-hatred” had been aired at the Somerset music festival and it was a “time of national shame”.
Confidence in the BBC’s “ability to treat antisemitism seriously” has been brought to a “new low”, he said in a post on X, adding that “outright incitement to violence and hatred” appeared to be acceptable if it was couched as “edgy political commentary”.
Ordinary people had not only failed to see incitement “for what it is” but had cheered it, chanted it, and celebrated it, he said. “Toxic Jew-hatred is a threat to our entire society,” he added.
Bob Vylan, posting a new statement on Instagram on Tuesday, said they were “not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people”.
Rather, they were for the “dismantling of a violent military machine” – the Israel Defence Forces.
Bob Vylan chanted “death to the IDF” at Glastonbury. As many as 95% of the IDF are thought to be Jewish.
In their statement, the group said they were a “distraction from the story” and that whatever “sanctions” they received would also be a distraction.
Their US visas have been revoked and United Talent Agency, their US representatives, have dropped them.
Bob Vylan with their MOBO award in London in November 2022. Pic: Reuters
Referring to the war in Gaza, they claimed the UK government does not want them to ask “why they remain silent in the face of this atrocity”, “why they aren’t doing more to stop the killing” and “feed the starving”.
They added: “The more time they talk about Bob Vylan, the less time they spend answering for their criminal inaction.
“We are being targeted for speaking up. We are not the first, we will not be the last, and if you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too.”
It has emerged that Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, was at Glastonbury when the duo led chants of “Death to the IDF” which were broadcast live.
The prime minister’s spokesman, asked if the PM had confidence in Mr Davie, said Sir Keir Starmer had “confidence in the BBC”, adding: “The position of the director-general is a matter for the BBC’s board.”
Speaking in the Commons, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said “accountability” was important and it was something she had “impressed upon the BBC leadership”.
She added: “When you have one editorial failure, it’s something that must be gripped. When you have several, it becomes a problem of leadership.”
The cabinet minister said she’d called Mr Davie after Bob Vylan’s set had been broadcast to find out why it had aired, and why the feed had not been cut.
“I expect answers to these questions without delay,” she said.
Meanwhile Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the culture, media and sport committee, has written to Mr Davie in relation to the corporation’s Glastonbury coverage.
The committee has said the letter asks about editorial and decision-making processes and whether consideration was given to broadcasting with a delay. It also asks about staffing levels at the festival and contingency planning.
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has claimed there is a ‘problem of leadership’ at the BBC. File pic: PA
Avon and Somerset Police has begun a criminal investigation and is reviewing footage of both Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances at Glastonbury.
The force said a senior detective had been appointed – and it had been contacted by people from around the world.
“We… recognise the strength of public feeling,” it said.
During Kneecap’s set, one member suggested starting a “riot” outside his bandmate’s forthcoming court appearance, before clarifying that he meant “support”. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, also known as Mo Chara, is charged with a terror offence.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap performing at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters
Bob Vylan had been due to tour the US before their visas were revoked.
US deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau said action had been taken “in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants”.
“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” he added.
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During Bob Vylan’s set, the duo performed in front of a screen that showed several messages, including one that claimed Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to “genocide”.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 and killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has led to the deaths of more than 56,500 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
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Media watchdog Ofcom has said the BBC “clearly has questions to answer” over the live stream from Glastonbury.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The director-general was informed of the incident after the performance and at that point he was clear it should not feature in any other Glastonbury coverage.”
The broadcaster respects freedom of expression but “stands firmly against incitement to violence”, they said.
They added: “The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves…
“The team were dealing with a live situation, but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.”
The government has won a long-running legal challenge about its decision to continue allowing the sale of spare parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, while suspending other arms licences over concerns about international humanitarian law in Gaza.
But a key part of its case has highlighted mixed messaging about its position on the risk of genocide in Gaza – and intensified calls for ministers to publish their own assessment on the issue.
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Lawyers acting for the government told judges “the evidence available does not support a finding of genocide” and “the government assessment was that…there was no serious risk of genocide occurring”.
Therefore, they argued, continuing to supply the F-35 components did not put the UK at risk of breaching the Genocide Convention.
This assessment has never been published or justified by ministers in parliament, despite numerous questions on the issue.
Some MPs argue its very existence contrasts with the position repeatedly expressed by ministers in parliament – that the UK is unable to give a view on allegations of genocide in Gaza, because the question is one for the international courts.
For example, just last week Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told PMQs “it is a long-standing principle that genocide is determined by competent international courts and not by governments”.
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Situation in Gaza ‘utterly intolerable’
‘The UK cannot sit on our hands’
Green MP Ellie Chowns said: “The government insists only an international court can judge whether genocide is occurring in Gaza, yet have somehow also concluded there is ‘no serious risk of genocide’ in Gaza – and despite my urging, refuse to publish the risk assessments which lead to this decision.
“Full transparency on these risk assessments should not be optional; it is essential for holding the government to account and stopping further atrocity.
“While Labour tie themselves in knots contradicting each other, families are starving, hospitals lie in ruins, and children are dying.
“The UK cannot sit on our hands waiting for an international court verdict when our legal duty under the Genocide Convention compels us to prevent genocide from occurring, not merely seek justice after the fact.”
‘Why are these assessments being made?’
“This contradiction at the heart of the government’s position is stark,” said Zarah Sultana MP, an outspoken critic of Labour’s approach to the conflict in Gaza, who now sits as an independent after losing the party whip last summer.
“Ministers say it’s not for them to determine genocide, that only international courts can do so. Yet internal ‘genocide assessments’ have clearly been made and used to justify continuing arms exports to Israel.
“If they have no view, why are these assessments being made? And if they do, why refuse to share them with parliament? This Labour government, in opposition, demanded the Tories publish their assessments. Now in office, they’ve refused to do the same.”
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Routes for Palestinians ‘restricted’
Judges at the High Court ultimately ruled the case was over such a “sensitive and political issue” it should be a matter for the government, “which is democratically accountable to parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not the court”.
Dearbhla Minogue, a senior lawyer at the Global Legal Action Network, and a solicitor for Al-Haq, the Palestinian human rights group which brought the case, said: “This should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the government, but rather a restrained approach to the separation of powers.
“The government’s disgraceful assessment that there is no risk of genocide has therefore evaded scrutiny in the courts, and as far as we know it still stands.”
Pics: Reuters
What is the government’s position?
Government lawyers argued the decision not to ban the export of F-35 parts was due to advice from Defence Secretary John Healey, who said a suspension would impact the whole F-35 programme and have a “profound impact on international peace and security”.
The UK supplies F-35 component parts as a member of an international defence programme which produces and maintains the fighter jets.
As a customer of that programme, Israel can order from the pool of spare parts.
‘This washing of hands will no longer work’
Labour MP Richard Burgon said the ruling puts the government under pressure to clarify its position.
“This court ruling is very clear: only the government and parliament can decide if F-35 fighter jet parts – that can end up in Israel – should be sold,” he said.
“So the government can no longer pass the buck: it can stop these exports, or it can be complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“On many issues they say it’s not for the government to decide, but it’s one for the international courts. This washing of hands will no longer work.”
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Dozens dead in Gaza after Israeli strikes
Israel has consistently rejected any allegations of genocide.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded a recent UN report on the issue biased and antisemitic.
“Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Hamas terrorist organisation… the United Nations once again chooses to attack the state of Israel with false accusations,” he said in a statement.
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‘Gaza disinformation campaign is deliberate’
The UK government has not responded to requests for comment over its contrasting messaging to parliament and the courts over allegations of genocide.
But in response to the judgement, a spokesperson said: “The court has upheld this government’s thorough and lawful decision-making on this matter.
“This shows that the UK operates one of the most robust export control regimes in the world. We will continue to keep our defence export licensing under careful and continual review.
“On day one of this Government, the foreign secretary ordered a review into Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL).
“The review concluded that there was a clear risk that UK exports for the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) in the Gaza conflict might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL.
“In contrast to the last government, we took decisive action, stopping exports to the Israeli Defence Forces that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.”
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