Jeremy Spake, the former star of the BBC series 'Airport', is suing the Isle of Man government for personal injuries, alleging that his mental health was damaged by overwork and harassment from air traffic controllers. The 54-year-old quit his role as deputy director of the Isle of Man Airport in March last year, citing 'bullying, harassment and mobbing on an almost industrial scale'. He had already received substantial damages from the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) in an industrial tribunal settlement.
The new legal action, launched in April, claims the DoI was negligent and breached its contract by failing to address his stress at work, where he regularly worked 110 hours per week. However, Keira Gore, representing the DoI, argued that the claim should be dismissed as an abuse of process, stating it could have been included in the earlier tribunal case. She noted that the tribunal settlement, reached in January, included a significant payout covering injury to feelings and loss of earnings, and that the civil claim risks double recovery.
Chris Grimson, Spake's advocate, countered that the personal injury claim is separate, arising from 'abject' institutional failures leading to extreme overwork, lack of support, and harassment from a group in air traffic control. He argued that the DoI's negligence and breaches of statutory duty caused psychiatric damage over three years. The court heard that Spake's tribunal claim was primarily about whistleblowing over safety concerns, while the civil claim focuses on the physical and mental toll of working conditions.
Spake first gained fame in 1996 on the BBC documentary 'Airport', filmed at Heathrow where he worked for Aeroflot. After leaving the Isle of Man Airport, he started a consultancy with his former boss. Deemster John Needham reserved judgment, calling it a 'complex area of law'. The Isle of Man government declined to comment, stating the matter is before the courts.
