Chris Thomas says he is ’surprised and disappointed’ at being sacked as minister for policy and reform.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said he dismissed Mr Thomas from the Council of Ministers for not following rules on collective responsibility after voting against emergency planning regulations in Tynwald.

Mr Quayle told a press briefing on Thursday that Mr Thomas had ’effectively resigned’ as he had been warned in writing that he did not have permission to vote against the government on an issue for which he had no pre-declared interest.

But the Douglas Central MHK insisted he had not breached rules on collective responsibility as he had a declared position on the planning process, as outlined in his 2016 election manifesto.

He told the Courier he had ’profound issues’ to do with governance and law and policy during the current state of emergency.

Mr Thomas said: ’I’m surprised and disappointed, not for me personally but for how it disrupts some important public policy direction at a crucial moment in the 2016-2021 administration.

’My focus - for the next few days and thereafter - is of course the national interest.’

The Chief Minister claimed Mr Thomas’s decision to vote against the emergency powers planning procedures regulations followed other actions that had ’undermined’ the Council of Ministers’ decision-making process.

He said these included the Policy and Reform Minister not voting as part of the Council of Ministers on the critical question of border closure in Tynwald on March 31.

But Mr Thomas insisted: ’I didn’t vote against the border closure.’

He said he had stepped out from the item when it was debated in Tynwald as he shared similar concerns raised by other members over the policy on quarantine and returning residents. ’It was rushed,’ he said.

The government was defeated in Tynwald this week over its proposals to allow only written submissions to planning inquiries.

Mr Thomas said he had a ’long-held, principled and declared’ position in respect of planning process.

He told iomtoday.co.im: ’I voted against for all the valid reasons cited in Tynwald by others as the order was comprehensively rejected, and several more besides which I would have added if I had not complied with the ministerial code by not speaking in the debate.

’Was it not surprising that DEFA moved an order supported by DoI when appeals are handled independently of the original planning decision process? A Cabinet Office political member voted against too.’

Mr Thomas pointed out that the rules on collective responsibility were changed at the beginning of the Quayle administration to allow ministers to speak publicly against Council of Ministers policies and decisions if they have a declared position.

’This is something that the Chief Minister, chief secretary and several Ministers seem to have forgotten,’ he said.

He said the vote was clearly not a matter included in the Programme for Government or the annual Budget, and nor was it a matter of national importance.

In his 2016 election manifesto, Mr Thomas said planning decisions should be ’transparent, fair and depoliticised’.

Mr Thomas said he would be pleased to discuss matters about governance, law and policy, during and after the ’proclaimed emergency’ but he would do this ’in the right way, in the right place and at the right time in the national interest’.

He added: ’This is a very delicate time for so many of the people I was elected to represent in 2013.

’Many matters of public policy need handling with care, and thoroughly, given the substantial challenges we have had for several years but which have been made even more challenging in the last three months.’

The Chief Minister said: ’Mr Thomas took the decision to vote against the government of which he is a minister.

’Collective responsibility is a fundamental principle of the island’s system of government and is especially important during a time of national emergency.

’It is with great sadness therefore that I have concluded that I can no longer have full confidence in Mr Thomas as a minister in this government.’

He praised Mr Thomas’s attention to fine detail, especially in the development of legislation, and the extensive contribution he has made to the work of the administration, most notably on developing the Programme for Government.

Mr Thomas was notably absent from the regular Covid press briefings.

He joked in a Tweet that he identified as a ’designated survivor’ - a reference to the Netflix political thriller starring Kiefer Sutherland.