A celebrity airport boss who quit his job at Ronaldsway has had his damages claim against a government department thrown out.

Jeremy Spake, who found fame as star of hit TV series Airport, had previously agreed to settle a tribunal claim for unfair dismissal – and has now learned he cannot have a ‘second bite of the cherry’.

He stepped down as deputy director of Isle of Man Airport in March 2022, citing ‘bullying, harassment and mobbing on an almost industrial scale’.

In May last year Mr Spake issued a tribunal claim against the Department of Infrastructure claiming unfair, wrongful or constructive dismissal.

This related to his whistleblowing over concerns about safety and other issues at the airport. He also claimed to have been harassed by individuals in air traffic control.

That claim was settled in January this year by way of a compromise agreement featuring a significant sum and a non-disclosure clause.

Mr Spake subsequently lodged a claim for personal injuries against the DoI.

He sought damages over the department’s alleged negligence and breach of contract for failing to minimise his stress and provide adequate support during his three years at the airport, where he said he regularly worked 110 hours a week.

Now Deemster John Needham has struck out the damages claim as an abuse of process.

In a judgment, he said it would be contrary to public policy to allow Mr Spake to bring this claim, given the significant sum already received together and the ‘very high risk of double recovery’,

Deemster Needham said: ‘The claim now pursued by the same claimant against the same defendant should have been made in the first action, namely the employment tribunal complaint. Allowing this second claim to proceed would, in my judgment, amount to an abuse of process.’

In his employment tribunal claim, Mr Spake alleged his dismissal had been motivated wholly or primarily by his whistleblowing over safety-related matters at the airport.

He said there had been a ‘persistent and cumulative’ lack of management support during his tenure and he cited an audit in February 2019 of air traffic safety by the UK Civil Aviation Authority which highlighted a wide range of safety-related non-compliance.

Mr Spake said he had made many reports about ongoing issues and sought additional HR support and more finances to fund the many improvements needed.

He suggested the vast majority of such requests were met with either silence or refusal from departmental managers who he said failed to embrace the need to modernise.

Mr Spake alleged a campaign against him was instigated by members of air traffic control which was not investigated and no action was taken about what he referred to as their ‘toxic’ behaviours and cultures.

The claimant referred to the stress of regularly working 110 hours per week.

Following a report on air traffic control by external consultants Gautrey, Mr Spake was suspended from duty between January and April 2021 but claims he was never informed of the exact reason for his suspension.

He returned to work but matters came to a heard at a meeting on March 3 last year, when he tendered his immediate resignation after being told that further funding for airport projects was unlikely to be available.

He attempted to withdraw his resignation the following day but was told he was not permitted to do so.

The DoI denied the allegations against it made in Mr Spake’s damages claim and suggested his management style and conduct had themselves been problematic as set out in the Gautrey report.