Chief Minister Tony Brown is playing down any suggestion the Isle of Man was bullied by the United Kingdom over the original plan to terminate the Reciprocal Health Agreement.

A lengthy report into the UK's relationship with the Crown dependencies describes the way the Manx government was told the long-running agreement was to end as 'simply unacceptable'.

The report, by the House of Commons Justice Committee, says departments of the UK government should be made aware of the constitutional position of the dependencies.

Mr Brown says the Island hasn't been 'pushed around' (play audio file):

The Reciprocal Health Agreement was due to end today (Wednesday), but has been extended for six months.

Yesterday, outgoing Health Minister Eddie Teare said there were encouraging signs negotitions between the Island and the UK over a revised, permanent arrangement would bear fruit.