Former Chief Minister Richard Corkill has had his licence to operate as a pharmacist suspended.

The Department of Health has issued a statement confirming that the pharmacy on Main Road in Onchan will be removed from the NHS Pharmaceutical List from midnight tonight (Friday).

His retail chemist business continues to operate as normal.

The decision follows a legal ruling earlier this year, which ordered the department to reconsider Mr Corkill's application to go on the list.

James Davis has more (text, below, from attached audio file):

A ruling that the pharmacy's inclusion on the NHS list be quashed from midnight on July 3, was made back in March.

The matter had gone to court after a rival pharmacy business complained it had been denied access to Mr Corkill's application.

Maley's, trading as Lloyds Pharmacy, said it had not received the documents it was entitled to see, to properly decide whether to object to the proposed chemist.

Richard Corkill had requested that interested parties were not shown what he called 'confidential data', which went against established practice.

The court agreed and overturned the DHSS approval, and Mr Corkill was invited to resubmit his application, which he did in May.

The matter is still under consideration, and so the July 3 deadline to remove his pharmacist licence comes into force.