Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan said he was ’never a fan’ of the government’s investment in Pinewood.

Giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee investigating losses made during the island’s foray into film making this week, Mr Cannan said he was confident the Treasury under his watch had made the right investment decisions.

He said: ’I didn’t support the Pinewood investment. I was never a fan of what potential benefits it was alleged to be bringing to the island.’

Mr Cannan, who was a backbencher at the time of the decision to invest in Pinewood, added: ’Many will argue that they went into it with their eyes open.’

He told the committee: ’Am I confident that today we are providing adequate challenge, suitable scrutiny around investment proposals coming our way, are we transparent with Tynwald in terms of how money is being used and the returns we are seeking to obtain, I believe the answer to those questions is yes.’

Mr Cannan said that ’touch wood’ he had yet to see any ’overly drastic’ failures relating to public money signed off in Treasury for investment into the local economy and businesses.

The committee is investigating whether there is a need for further inquiry into the £26m losses made by the island’s film industry.

More than 100 films and TV shows were produced in the island, generating over £300m in VAT and other taxes.

But when the VAT rules changed in 2007, the number of films made here dwindled.

In total, £20.6m was written off on films made during the time CinemaNX was managing the media development fund.

A further £6.2m was written off when Pinewood advisors were in charge.