A Tynwald scrutiny committee has heard further serious concerns about the process that led to Vision Nine being awarded the TT promoter contract.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Ministers and senior government officials, past and present, who were involved in the TT private promoter tender process will present their evidence to the committee.

The first part of the evidence from Economic Development Minister Laurence Skelly, DED political member David Cretney, DED chief executive Mark Lewin and his predecessor Chris Corlett, motorsport development manager Paul Phillips and former DED deputy chief executive David Ronan, will be heard in public.

But the remainder will be heard behind closed doors.

Deputy clerk of Tynwald Jonathan King explained: ’The reason for taking some oral evidence in private is to hear evidence on commercial and legal matters whose disclosure may not be in the public interest at this time.’

Later that afternoon, former head of motorsport Trevor Hussey will give his evidence.

Last week, the committee heard from Guernsey-based businessman Barrie Baxter, who lost out in the bid for the TT promoter contract.

Mr Baxter, who has a background in sports management including involvement with the World Superbike riders and teams, told the committee: ’I instinctively thought this was a done deal. There was the feeling we were just there as a stalking horse. We were just there to validate the process.’

He was surprised to learn before they submitted the final bid that they would be expected to take on a ’key’ individual within DED who would receive 5 per cent of whatever growth was generated.

’We were presented with a fait accompli,’ he said.

Committee member Tim Baker MHK asked: ’This was one of the terms under which you were going to have to tender?’

Mr Baxter, who said he was funding the bid personally, replied: ’Well, we didn’t have to employ the people that were in the team but we would have been pretty daft not to.’

He added: ’Our goal was not to make inordinate profit. Our goal was to stop the bleeding, the £2.5m approximate bleed from the taxpayers.

’What we realised was there was another £2m to £2.5m of cost that wasn’t in the P&L [profit and loss account] we were being presented with. This was the cost of the police, health, the roads, in other departments.

’And so we realised the total cost to the island was somewhere in the region of £4m or £5m.’

Mr Baxter said he had concerns about the commercial relationship between Vision Nine and the Sports Consultancy and about the relationships between Vision Nine and the government built up during earlier proposals for a World Series.

Committee chairman Michael Coleman MLC asked: ’You are not suggesting any form of malfeasance?’

Mr Baxter replied: ’No, I’m not suggesting that. That’s for you to determine. I’m not suggesting anything untoward.’