'No choice' but to accept EU vote outcome

The Island's future in Europe is essentially at the mercy of the UK.

That's the view of an Island-based legal professor and international parliamentary adviser.

A long-awaited referendum will be held in June, to decide whether Britain remains a member of the European Union, which it has been since 1973.

Protocol 3 of its accession treaty binds the Isle of Man indirectly to the Union - meaning it enjoys some, but not all, of the Single Market's provisions.

But St. John Bates says the Island's ties to the UK mean it will have to go along with the result: