Home Affair Minister Bill Malarkey says the reason the law updating rules on detention of suspects was not updated earlier was because of the advice of a senior legal officer at the time.

But, Attorney General John Quinn said that, when the revelation was first made, it was ’news to me’.

It emerged earlier this year that police may have been breaching the 96-hour maximum limit on detention before a suspect must be charged or released.

It followed a UK court judgment - in 2011 - that ruled any time spent on police bail counted towards the 96 hours.

Police forces, here and in the UK, had worked on the basis the ’detention clock’ stopped when a suspect was bailed.

The UK reacted almost immediately and introduced laws to exclude time on police bail from consideration, but the Manx authorities have only just updated the law, which has a retrospective element.

In Tynwald last week, Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey) asked Mr Malarkey about the investigation into the ’failings’ that led to the delay in action.

The minister said: ’The facts are that my department, the Isle of Man Constabulary and the Attorney General’s Chambers were well aware, in 2011, of the change in the law in the UK and why the changes were being made.

’The reason nothing was done earlier is that the then director of prosecutions advised that no action was necessary on the basis that UK case law is only persuasive on the island and that action should only be taken in the event of a challenge arising in a particular case - therefore his view being that, as there had not been any challenges on the island, the issue was unlikely to arise.

He added: ’As a result, there were actually no failings in either identifying the UK law changes, or in taking action, because the legal advice received in my department at the time was that my department did not need to take any action until a challenge arose.’

The director of prosecutions in the Isle of Man, from 2009-2014, was Stuart Neale.

When asked what had changed to merit the rushing through of legislation this year - multiple readings of the Police (Detention and Bail) Bill were taking at single sittings - Mr Malarkey pointed to the appointment of Mr Quinn as attorney general, plus other changes in the AG’s chambers.

Mr Quinn told members: ’When I was told recently by Minister Malarkey that his department had discovered that advice was given, it was news to me.

’I have still not been able to find any written advice which was given by the then director of prosecutions in 2011, but I have got no reason to challenge or question the fact that the Chief Constable, for example, has a clear recollection that he was told by the then director of prosecutions that there was no need to take action and that we should wait and see, perhaps - and I think those were the director’s words - if any challenge was made.’

He added: ’What has changed is I entirely disagree with that advice and I think that is the simple fact of the matter.

’It would be looking to solve a problem after the horse had bolted from the stable and the stable door was closed.’