The Department for Enterprise has apologised to Education Minister Julie Edge regarding a Freedom of Information request.
The DfE has confirmed that a recent FOI request response about financial assistance provided to politicians as a result of Covid-19 has been withdrawn due to an outstanding query and an amended version will be published.
The department had responded to the request regarding any MHKs who held a directorship or shareholder position in companies that received Covid support payments during the pandemic.
Education Minister Julie Edge was listed as holding a business interest in a related business and her information was published as part of the FOI response.
Ms Edge has now made it clear that she no longer had this business interest by the time the Covid-19 financial assistance claim was submitted and therefore the DfE is working to ensure the information be removed from the response.
The Department has apologised to Ms Edge and is working with her and the Information Commissioner in relation to this query.
There was an outcry of support for Ms Edge online, with one social media commentor describing the incident as a ‘shambles’.
Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas also took to Twitter to question why Ms Edge was included in the response in the first place.
We covered the FOI response on the front page of this week’s Manx Independent, which is available in shops and online now: In this week’s Manx Independent: How much money politicians’ companies got in Covid crisis. | iomtoday.co.im
The Department for Enterprise made this correction after we went to press.