Twice as many people have been jailed for Covid breaches than has been disclosed to MHKs.

Home Affairs Minister Graham Cregeen told a sitting of the House of Keys this month that as of May 12, 13 people had been sentenced to terms of imprisonment after being convicted of emergency powers offences.

But in a response to a Freedom on Information request submitted by island advocate Ian Kermode, the Department of Home Affairs confirmed that as of May 20, 26 people had received a custodial sentence in the Manx courts for breach of any of the emergency powers regulations.

The department had initially declined to give the figure, claiming it did not hold or could not, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information requested.

But it subsequently released the data after Mr Kermode requested an internal review of the decision.

In response to a separate FoI request, the Attorney General’s chambers confirmed that there have been two cases where juvenile defendants have been sentenced to custody at the Secure Unit for Covid-19 offences.

Mr Kermode has raised human rights concerns about the treatment of new arrivals at the jail who all have to spend 14 days on an isolation wing while the prison is in lockdown.

He claims they have been denied access to daily showers, changes of clothing and exercise.

Similar concerns have been raised by the island’s Law Society and the local branch of Amnesty International.

The Home Affairs Minister insisted during a virtual sitting of the House of Keys on May 15 that no detainee had been subject to degrading or inhuman treatment during their time at Isle of Man Prison.

He told MHKs that as of May 12, 84 had been arrested for breach of emergency powers regulations. Mr Cregeen said the isolation wing had seen three different regimes, the most restrictive one being when a Covid-positive inmate was admitted.