The secretary of the employees' side of the Whitley Council, Bernard Moffatt, is welcoming the resignation of employers' side chairman John Houghton, MHK.

A row erupted after Mr Houghton reported his counterpart on the employees' side to the police, for allegedly making insulting comments at a meeting.

The allegations proved groundless, the employees' side said it would stay away from Whitley Council meetings and Mr Moffatt said Mr Houghton's position was untenable.

Following last night's announcement in Tynwald that Mr Houghton had offered to resign for the good of the negotiating body, Mr Moffatt told Manx Radio he had done the right thing:

"I'm glad that he has realised his position was totally untenable and has stood down.

"There was no substance whatsoever to the allegations that he made, and to have introduced them in the way he did into an industrial forum was unfortunate to say the least.

"At worst it caused considerable strain and concern to my colleague, the chairman of the employees' side, who has been the person right in the firing-line throughout this whole ordeal."