Businessman calls for inquiry after court critiques police conduct

Hopes to address 'failings regarding the warrant and investigation'

A businessman is calling for an independent inquiry after a High Court judgment ruled that a police search warrant used to enter his home was unlawfully obtained.

The case stemmed from a warrant executed in September 2025 as part of an investigation into alleged financial offences.

While the court had already found the warrant to be invalid, a further hearing was needed to determine whether police could continue to retain material seized from Jonathan Haywood during the search.

Deemster Andrew Corlett said that the legal threshold for a search warrant had not been met and that investigators should instead have sought a production order - a less intrusive method of obtaining evidence.

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The police raid which saw 'family computers, phones, medical records, house keys, Kindles, and even dance videos belonging to his daughter' seized in the presence of Mr Haywood, his wife and his daughter.

In the aftermath, however, Mr Haywood was 'never charged with any offence'.

Now, Mr Haywood is calling for independent inquiry 'not only into the failings regarding the warrant and investigation', but also 'to find out why the Isle of Man’s police complaints procedures turned Mr Haywood’s formal complaint into a mere expression of '"customer dissatisfaction", resulting in a failure to address the complaint about the conduct of police officers, and leading to a long, drawn-out legal battle'.

He said: "As a long-serving teacher and regulated-sector professional, I have worked alongside and assisted police forces for many years. 

"I have great respect for officers who fulfil their duty to protect the public. 

"But as the High Court has now acknowledged, the Constabulary and the Attorney General’s Chambers portrayed me and my regulated cryptocurrency business customers as suspicious without any reasonable grounds to do so. 

"Their prolonged retention of my essential devices, software and records caused the collapse of the business I had built over the last 10 years. 

"The warrant should never have been granted, and the underlying investigation appears entirely misguided."

He added: "I challenged the Chief Constable's attempt to have these proceedings kept private because it’s in the public interest to find out the reasons why my family and I, and my business, were treated in this way. 

"People in the regulated financial sector must be able to do business without fear that it will be destroyed by unlawful, ill-considered and heavy-handed state action. 

"Above all, I call for an independent review of the Isle of Man’s police complaints process, particularly how complaints alleging serious officer misconduct come to be recast as ‘customer dissatisfaction matters’ and excluded from formal statutory investigations."

Manx Radio approached the Department of Home Affairs for comment.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: "The Department and the Constabulary are carefully considering the judgment. 

"As proceedings in relation to this matter are still ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage. 

"In respect of police complaints, a significant amount of work has already been undertaken by the department to update and improve police complaints legislation. 

"A draft bill is currently being prepared and is expected to go out for public consultation early in this administration."