EZY MAN Base
Two things - first, I believe that any such "agreement" made by LPL that resticted EZY from operating from MAN would probably have fallen foul of EU competition rules. Second, never believe everything that is said by a Commercial Director - as a species they speak a different language, made up largley of spin and a certain economy of the truth!! That's not a swipe at MAN's Commercial Director - but at the breed in general. If I were him (or her) given the circumstances, I would have been only too pleased to take the credit for this good fortune. (And I'm not a profession spin-meister!).
That said, I would still would still place a small bet on EZY eventually having small bases at both of the UK's (non-BAA) principal airports.