Onchan Commissioners has agreed to commission an independent investigation into an alleged assault at the end of a meeting last month.

In July, it was alleged that board member David Quirk assaulted a member of the public following the authority’s meeting.

Onchan Commissioners has agreed that the investigation will be carried out purely to establish what happened on the evening of July 27.

The board discussed the matter in private, but minutes have since been made public outlining how members decided to proceed following the acceptance of a formal complaint.

It resolved that both the complainant and Mr Quirk will be given the opportunity to provide information as part of the investigation.

The investigation will provide the board with an impartial assessment, while helping to promote ‘transparency’ and ‘fairness’ and reducing the risk of allegations of bias or procedural unfairness.

At present, there are no details about how long the investigation will take or who will conduct it.

Mr Quirk claims he acted in ‘self-protection’ and put his hand up defensively after being subjected to verbal abuse.

In a previous statement, he said: ‘Following the close of the public session, and before the private session started, a member of the public approached me aggressively as I stood at the board table.

‘He started shouting abuse at me in a threatening manner. I considered the behaviour to be aggressive and very intimidating.

‘In an act of self-protection, I put up my hand in a defensive manner to create a safe distance.

‘My action was solely to create a safe personal space and de-escalate the situation. I did not assault, nor make intentional contact with the person.’

Mr Quirk said more needs to be done to protect commissioners at public meetings.

‘This incident raises serious concerns about the safety and security of elected representatives,’ he said. ‘This kind of behaviour should never be regarded as acceptable in public service.

‘Any elected representative should be able to perform their duties without fear of threats, intimidation, harassment or aggressive behaviour.’

The local authority was also aware of a social media post containing information about the alleged assault.

Five members voted in favour of the investigation - Scott Wilson, Gabriella Corkish, Oliver Lockwood, Anthony Allen and Andrew Gibson.

Miss Corkish is reported in the minutes as saying the matter should not be ‘ignored’ and that if board members conducted themselves ‘appropriately and professionally’, it would minimise the likelihood of ‘inflammatory interactions’.

However, the minutes show that Robin Turton said the board had no legal powers to act and questioned how an investigation would resolve the issues.

He also said the parties should contact the police and allow the matter to be dealt with by them.

Meanwhile, Mr Gibson said the alleged conduct had the potential to cause ‘reputational damage’ to the authority and bring it into disrepute.

Mr Turton and Mr Quirk voted against the proposal for an investigation.

The Isle of Man Constabulary has also confirmed it is investigating the alleged assault.

Officers say they have been made ‘formally aware’ of the incident and will not be making any further comment while enquiries continue.