Three newly elected members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) have been appointed to key government departments, following their selection by the House of Keys.

Gary Clueit, Kirstie Morphet and Peter Reid were officially sworn in on Tuesday, March 11, alongside re-elected member Rob Mercer MLC, to fill four Legislative Council vacancies. Each will serve a five-year term.

As part of their new roles, the MLCs have been assigned to different government departments by the Council of Ministers.

Mr Clueit, a businessman and lay-member of the Housing and Communities Board, has been appointed to the Treasury, replacing Bill Henderson.

He will work alongside Andrew Smith MHK as a departmental member.

His appointment to the legislative council has been marred in controversy following reports he has questioned Holocaust numbers and events of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Mr Clueit’s swearing in was overshadowed by reports in the Jewish Chronicle concerning comments posted on X/formerly Twitter.

He secured his seat in the upper chamber after picking up 13 votes in the first round of voting in the recent LegCo elections.

But he has told Media Isle of Man that he had been the victim of a ‘vendetta’ by a local campaigner, who first raised concerns about the comments made on social media and shared screen shots of them with all MHKs ahead of the LegCo election.

He said he recognised some of the posts that had been flagged - but ‘one or two I don’t’.

Mr Clueit is now threatening to take legal action.

Mrs Morphet, a social worker with more than 20 years of experience, has been appointed to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), taking over from Mr Mercer.

Mr Mercer has expressed his support for this change. Mrs Morphet will join John Wannenburgh MHK in the DHA.

Mr Reid has been assigned to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), where he will work alongside Ministers Jane Poole-Wilson and David Ashford.

He takes over from Ms Tanya August-Phillips MLC, who has stepped down from her departmental duties at the DHSC following the Legislative Council election.

Ms August-Phillips has since been appointed to the Department of Enterprise, with a focus on the Finance Isle of Man agency, while continuing her membership in the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.

Additionally, following the retirement of Mr Peter Greenhill, the Legislative Council will recommend Mr Reid’s appointment as Vice-Chair of the Manx Utilities Authority at the April 2025 sitting of Tynwald.

Deputy Chief Minister, Jane Poole-Wilson MHK, expressed gratitude for the outgoing members and welcomed the new appointees.

She said: ‘On behalf of the Council of Ministers, I’d like to thank our outgoing and moving members for all of their hard work, and acknowledge their invaluable input to departments.

‘I’d also like to welcome all of our new department members; we look forward to working with you all as we focus on the challenges of delivering and improving our services in 2025-26.’