Antisemitism Investigation

Summary

A request was made for all records regarding an investigation into potential antisemitism involving Housing Board member Gary Clueit, initiated after an email complaint in October 2023. The Cabinet Office responded by releasing some correspondence but withheld parts of the information under exemptions.

Key Facts

• The investigation concerns public statements made by Housing and Communities Board member Gary Clueit regarding Israel.
• The complaint was lodged on 15 October 2023, alleging Clueit called the Israeli government 'terrorists' and used anti-semitic tropes.
• David Ashford initiated the investigation via email on 17 October 2023 to Kate Lord-Brennan.
• The Cabinet Office confirmed that board members are subject to the Government Code and can be removed for unsuitable conduct.
• The FOI request was received on 5 March 2025 and the outcome was issued on 3 April 2025.

Data Disclosed

• 17 October 2023
• 15 October 2023
• 5 March 2025
• 3 April 2025
• 7 pages
• 2 documents
• 4492517
• 01624 685706
• 01624 686244

Exemptions Cited

• Part exempt (specific exemption clauses not detailed in the provided text)

Original Request

All records of the investigation into potential antisemitism that was conducted pursuant to the email from David Ashford to Kate Lord-Brennan and ###### on 17 October 2023, with the subject line, "Housing Board Member XXXXX" -By records, I mean, all records as defined within the Freedom of Information Act. -By "the antisemitism investigation" I mean the investigation that Mr Ashford initiated pursuant to the email -By "the email" I mean the email that was sent with the following message headers: From: "Ashford, David" (David.Ashford@gov.im) To: "Lord-Brennan, Kate (MHK)" (Kate.Lord-Brennan@gov.im) CC: YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Subject: Re: Housing Board Member XXXXXX Thread-Topic: Housing Board Member XXXXXX Thread-Index: AQHZ/40+YB0W15ucHU66SDhet0z7hbBNaziAgAAjwFI = Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 06:56:22 +0000 Message-ID: <0C79245A-1133-4377-88A7-69F694280A6C@gov.im) References: (CAOB6-MhuY = SxoDLdonXmqvdp9qSegGsA90ruE2m+6hxj+511NA@ZZZZ.ZZZZZ.ZZZ),(f6bc4b59-0051-48fa-a14d-42a0f8b1253a@gov.im) In-Reply-To: (f6bc4b59-0051-48fa-a14d-42a0f8b1253a@gov.im) ----------- In accordance with GDPR protections, the text has had the following redactions: XXXXXX - identifying information of a member of the IOM Government's Housing and Communities Board YYYYYYYYYY - ####### name and email address ZZZZ.ZZZZZ.ZZZ - ###### email service provider My name and email address is attached to this FOI request. The other information can be provided on request, but I trust that the information provided above is sufficient to identify the records at issue.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

From: To: Cannan, Alfred Subject: RE: Housing Board Member Clueit Date: 17 October 2023 09:20:00 Good morning Chief Minister,   Lay Members went through a recruitment process and were interviewed prior to being appointed.   As part of the interview process there were questions regarding both understanding of the Government Code and Conflict of Interest.   The recruitment letter issued upon offering them the role contained the following paragraphs:   Conduct   Members of the Board are expected to exercise the highest standards of behaviour in line with the seven principles of public life as set out in the Information Pack.  A breach of the standards of behaviour expected may result in removal from office by the Council of Ministers.    In order to maintain high standards in public life, any appointment made may be terminated in the event that an appointee is convicted of a criminal offence, and/or where the Council of Ministers believes that the appointee’s conduct means that he or she is no longer a suitable person for the office.   If you need any other information just let me know. Best wishes   From: Cannan, Alfred Alfred.Cannan@gov.im Sent: 16 October 2023 18:42 To: Subject: FW: Housing Board Member Clueit   Hi   On what basis did we appoint the Board ?  I think Mr Clueit may have overstepped “the mark” with these comments.   Thank you       Office of the Chief Minister l Cabinet Office l Isle of Man Government l 3rd Floor Government Office l Bucks Road l Douglas l Isle of Man l IM1 3PN l Chiefminister.privateoffice@gov.im  l 01624 685706           From:

Sent: 15 October 2023 18:34 To: Cannan, Alfred Alfred.Cannan@gov.im Subject: Housing Board Member Clueit   Caution: This email is from an external sender. Please take care before opening any attachments or following any links.  Dear Chief Minister,   Thank you for your public statement this week regarding last weekend's massacres in Israel.   I write to draw your attention to the positively vile public statements that have apparently been published by a member of your Housing and Communities Board, Mr Gary Clueit.   They are reproduced in full below, and currently remain publicly accessible online at the links provided below.   Here, Mr Clueit publicly declares that the Israeli Government are "terrorists": https://x.com/GClueit/status/1711705200078020979?s=20   Here, Mr Clueit alludes to the old anti-semitic canard that Jews are waging a war for financial advantage: https://x.com/GClueit/status/1713589098315690178?s=20   I would be grateful for you to both review these statements and to take appropriate action as you see fit. I have sent equivalent messages to Ms Lord-Brennan and Mr Ashford in Cabinet Office.   Thank you in advance for giving this all due consideration.

Government Office Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PN Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244
Website: www.gov.im/co

Our ref: 4492517 3 April 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 5 March 2025, which states:

"All records of the investigation into potential antisemitism that was conducted pursuant to the email from David Ashford to Kate Lord-Brennan and ###### on 17 October 2023, with the subject line, "Housing Board Member XXXXX"

-By records, I mean, all records as defined within the Freedom of Information Act.

-By "the antisemitism investigation" I mean the investigation that Mr Ashford initiated pursuant to the email

-By "the email" I mean the email that was sent with the following message headers:

From: "Ashford, David" (David.Ashford@gov.im)

To: "Lord-Brennan, Kate (MHK)" (Kate.Lord-Brennan@gov.im)

CC: YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Subject: Re: Housing Board Member XXXXXX

Thread-Topic: Housing Board Member XXXXXX

Thread-Index: AQHZ/40+YB0W15ucHU66SDhet0z7hbBNaziAgAAjwFI =

Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 06:56:22 +0000

Message-ID: <0C79245A-1133-4377-88A7-69F694280A6C@gov.im)

References: (CAOB6-MhuY = SxoDLdonXmqvdp9qSegGsA90ruE2m+6hxj+511NA@ZZZZ.ZZZZZ.ZZZ),(f6bc 4b59-0051-48fa-a14d-42a0f8b1253a@gov.im)

In-Reply-To: (f6bc4b59-0051-48fa-a14d-42a0f8b1253a@gov.im)

In accordance with GDPR protections, the text has had the following redactions:

XXXXXX - identifying information of a member of the IOM Government's Housing and Communities Board

YYYYYYYYYY - ###### name and email address

ZZZZ.ZZZZZ.ZZZ - ##### email service provider

name and email address is attached to this FOI request. The other

information can be provided on request, but I trust that the information provided above is sufficient to identify the records at issue."

I have enclosed copies of the information held by Cabinet Office at Annex 1.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25(2)(b)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Cabinet Office is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Cabinet Office is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Cabinet Office can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article and in this case, none of those conditions have been met.

Please quote the reference number 4492517 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.