A law change is being brought in to help stop the island becoming a ’haven for drug dealers’

The Criminal Evidence Bill changes the rules on how mobile telephones, particularly text messages, can be used in evidence, after a challenge by defence lawyers.

Attorney General John Quinn warned: ’Although the Manx courts had previously dealt satisfactorily with evidence from the mobile phones of drug dealers without the changes proposed, now that the point has been taken judicially there is a serious risk of other trials being imperilled.

’Doing nothing is simply not an option if the island wishes to avoid the risk of becoming a haven for drug dealers.’

Last week the Bill completed its passage through the Legislative Council and is now due before the House of Keys.

Although it is unusual for the upper chamber to deal with legislation ahead of the Keys, it was decided this was the best course this time, partly because of the workload facing the government and also because the prime mover of the Bill is Mr Quinn, who sits in the upper chamber.

The issue arose after a trial ruling earlier this year on the admissibility of evidence from mobile phones.

A defence team argued that an incoming text message, purporting to be from a drug dealer’s client, was ’hearsay’ - unless the sender was called - and therefore inadmissible.

Mr Quinn said the ruling, without a change in legislation, ’would have jeopardised a number of forthcoming criminal trials and also made the job of the Constabulary much harder in relation to future investigations involving mobile phone evidence’.

The UK legislated to address the issue some 15 years ago and the Manx bill replicates part of that law.

The Bill will to allow the use of incoming messages on phones and devices to be used in evidence and the judiciary to give such evidence whatever weight it deemed appropriate.

Having received its third reading in Legislative Council last week, it will now be debated by the House of Keys.