Tribute paid to loyal Tynwald messenger

Derek Brown passed away earlier this year

Tynwald has stood silent in tribute to the memory of it's former chief messenger.

Derek Brown was one of four people killed in a car crash in Laxey on July the 24th.

Appointed a Messenger of Tynwald Court and the House of Keys in 1996, he had risen to the position of head messenger by the time he retired in 2010.

The job includes preparing the Tynwald chamber for sittings, carrying confidential message to political members, and performing ceremonial duties on Tynwald Day.

This morning as the Manx parliament sat for the first time since the summer recess, President Steve Rodan paid tribute to him and said the community had been 'greatly saddened' by his passing.