A former MHK has called on the Chief Constable to apologise for the way laws banning homosexual activity were enforced.

Hazel Hannan campaigned throughout the 1980s and 1990s to overturn legislation which saw gay men criminalised for same-sex offences.

Last month in the House of Keys, Chief Minister Howard Quayle gave an ’unqualified apology’ to those convicted under the ’misguided and unjust’ laws, which were repealed in 1994.

His comments came during the final reading of the 2019 Sexual Offences Bill, which will see men sentenced under the previous legislation receive an automatic pardon.

In his speech, the Chief Minister stressed the island’s police and courts enforced the law at the time, and ’the apology can only come from government, and the House of Keys’.

Mrs Hannan says it’s only ’half an apology’ until Chief Constable Gary Roberts says sorry on behalf of the police.

The former Peel MHK, who is now a commissioner in the town, described enforcement of the laws as ’heavy-handed’, and ’deliberately over the top’.

’When I think about the people who took their own lives because of this, there has to be, to the families and friends of these people, an apology,’ she told local democracy reporter Ewan Gawne.

’There’s got to be an apology from the police, because somebody at the top said "get out there, and get these people".’

She added: ’Clearly this is a human rights issue. This [homosexuality] is normal, why criminalise it?’

While the debate about whether the island should decriminalise homosexuality was taking place in the early 90s, the police undertook surveillance operations on public toilets, where gay men often met.

Some arrests wre made.

Mrs Hannan suggested that if there was a problem at certain toilets, the police could simply have put up a notice to say the toilets were being watched.

’I think their response was over the top and I would say it came from the then chief constable, Robin Oake.

’When I think about the people who took their own lives because of it, I think there has to be an apology from the police to the friends and family of them.

’Somebody said get out there and get these people.’

She said the police’s decisions were not guided by Tynwald.

’The police don’t take instructions,’ she said.

Asked whether she thought there was more police action on the issue while the issue was being discussed in parliament, she said: ’Yes. I think it was more or less two fingers to us.’

She suggested the police thought: ’You think you’ll do this. We’ll apply it [the law] with a heavy hand.’

Mrs Hannan’s comments came after the current chief constable, Gary Roberts, showed his support for Mr Quayle’s public apology.

On Twitter he said: ’It is entirely right and to be welcomed that the Chief Minister has done this.

’It is also important to note that the Isle of Man Constabulary’s inclusion and diversity work, which is overseen by an independent scrutiny group, has become something of which I am proud.’

The police force’s Tweetbeat posted a tweet featuring the gay rainbow flag and saying: ’The past has been spoken about a lot this week. This is where we are now. #Pride in our community.’

Mr Roberts replied: ’When we first started routinely flying the rainbow flags we got some terrific feedback from the LGBTQ+ community.

’However, the sourest letter I got was from a long retired cop, who accused me of virtue signalling & playing out my own liberal agenda.

’I’m proud that we do it.’