Neil Kinrade is the former Deputy Chief Constable of the

Isle of Man Constabulary The Isle of Man Constabulary ( gv, Meoiryn-Shee Ellan Vannin) is the national police service of the Isle of Man, an island of 85,000 inhabitants, situated approximately equidistant from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. Structures a ...

. He is well known for his part in unveiling the "Manx Bugging Scandal" of the late 1990s and 2000s, his subsequent suspension from duty and his clearing of his name, after taking a High Court Petition of Doleance action against the Chief Constable and the Minister of Home Affairs. He is a former Gambling Supervision Commissioner.

Early career

The Manx-born Kinrade joined the constabulary and rose quickly through the ranks to chief inspector. In 1999,

Mike Culverhouse Mike Culverhouse was Chief Constable of the Isle of Man Constabulary from 1999 until his retirement on 31 December 2007. He took over as Chief Constable following the retirement of Robin Oake QPM and was the first ever Chief Constable of the ...

was appointed Chief Constable following the retirement of

Robin Oake Robin Oake is the former Chief Constable of the Isle of Man Constabulary and before that Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. He was Chief Constable of the Isle of Man from 1986 to 1999, when he was succeeded by Mike Culve ...

QPM. Shortly afterwards at the end of January 2001, Neil Kinrade was appointed DCC. Less than a month into his appointment it was revealed that Kinrade was under investigation by an off-island force after an incident in February 2000. However after a 2½ year investigation Kinrade was completely cleared of these charges.

The Manx Bugging Scandal

On 23 October 2003, Minister of Home Affairs Minister

Phil Braidwood Robert Philip Braidwood BEng (born 11 July 1949) is a Manx politician, who was formerly a Member of the Legislative Council; he was previously an MHK for Douglas East after winning the Douglas East by-election in 1995 and he continued to top t ...

announced in the House of Keys that a probe had been launched after claims a bug was used to monitor conversations between lawyers and clients at police headquarters for more than 10 years.

confirmed that the listening device’s use was common until Spring 1999 and the allegations could lead to a decade of convictions being re-examined. A lawyer claimed that this scandal had the potential to cost the taxpayer £500 million.iomtoday.co.im – £500 Million Bill for Bugging Scandal?
/ref>

Suspension

In October 2003, Kinrade was suspended from duty in connection with an “ongoing enquiry”.iomtoday.co.im – Deputy Chief Constable Suspended
/ref> Member of

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...

John Houghton John Houghton may refer to: Politicians * John Houghton (fl.1393), MP for Leicester (UK Parliament constituency) * John Houghton (died 1583) (before 1522–1583), MP for Stamford (UK Parliament constituency) * John Houghton (Manx politician) * J ...

MHK, a critic of the police force, said the “whole force is up in arms”. Kinrade was revered by the "rank and file" of the Isle of Man Constabulary.

Cheshire Constabulary Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of Halton and Borough of Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an are ...

were brought in to investigate the allegations of illegal bugging,''Guardian'' – Police Accused of Bugging Lawyers' Talks with Clients
/ref> Mr Kinrade made a statement categorically denying any “inappropriate or unlawful conduct” and stated that he had lodged a formal complaint against Mike Culverhouse.

High Court action

Kinrade lodged a Petition of Doleance with the

Isle of Man High Court The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is governed by the High Court Act 1991. There are four permanent judges of the High Court: *the First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls *the Second Deemster *a full-time additional deemster *the Judg ...

. The petition demanded judicial review of his suspension and its handling by Mike Culverhouse and the

Department of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. During the next year, the court action was repeatedly delayed. Further suspensions of other officers were also made. In August 2004 the Isle of Man High Court action was halted. The terms of the settlement remained confidential but Neil Kinrade retired, "in line with his original intentions", and dropped his legal case and all disciplinary charges against him were dropped. It is rumoured the Department of Home Affairs paid around £1 million for Kinrade to drop his legal action. On 24 January 2005, Kinrade's replacement was announced as former Chief Superintendent Mike Langdon from the Merseyside force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinrade, Neil Manx police officers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)