The Chief Executive of the Department of Trade and Industry has admitted his department was 'led by the nose' by the Manx Electricity Authority.

It happened when the authority claimed to be spending ?10 million on researching wind power, when the cash was, in effect, going elsewhere.

Giving evidence before the Select Committee of Tynwald which is investigating how the authority ran up millions of pounds of unauthorised debts, Chris Corlett (pictured) said he believed the MEA regarded the stringent rules laid down by Treasury for capital projects as 'unduly onerous'.

He added that he understood the Treasury was unhappy with the MEA's attitude to those rules, rather than having any specific financial concerns.

This afternoon former DTI Minister David North and former Chief Minister Donald Gelling are being quizzed.