State Advocate tasked by government to take steps on allegations against Fearne
The State Advocate has been tasked by the government to investigate claims that money passed on for use as part of the hospitals concession agreement were instead utilised for a smear campaign against former Health Minister Chris Fearne.In a statemen
The State Advocate has been tasked by the government to investigate claims that money passed on for use as part of the hospitals concession agreement were instead utilised for a smear campaign against former Health Minister Chris Fearne.
In a statement on Tuesday, the government referred to stories indicating that €6 million in funds the government passed on for the running of three hospitals were instead directed towards the fabrication of stories intended to tarnish the former minister’s reputation.
Fearne has himself asked the police to investigate the matter.
In its statement, the government said that Prime Minister Robert Abela always had confidence in Fearne so much so that when the latter resigned his post as Deputy Prime Minister on 10 May, he had asked him to stay on. The Cabinet of Ministers supported this position, the government said.
The Cabinet also noted that the police had already confirmed that stories which had been published in foreign media related to Chris Fearne were not true.
In the light of the more recent developments, the Cabinet backed what the Prime Minister said last Monday – that an investigation should be immediately launched on the allegation that Fearne was the target of false news articles.
Nobody should be subject to such an attack, more so if they are acting in an official position. As such the State Advocate has been tasked with taking all the necessary steps in the international arbitration court that is deciding on the case brought forward by the government against Steward Health Care, which ran the three hospitals after taking over the concession from Vitals.
“If, as is being alleged, money used for the concession were used to fabricate stories, this money is added to the list of requests that the government has already submitted against Steward,” the statement said.
The statement also made reference to the case that the Opposition Leader opened against the State Advocate which is demanding, among other things, that Fearne is charged on a personal basis.
The Cabinet noted that since Fearne had been named as Malta’s nominee to the European Commission, it tried to undermine him. The Nationalist Party does not care about Malta’s interests; all it seeks is to take political advantage, the Cabinet said, condemning the behaviour and declaring its faith in Fearne.
In a separate statement, the Labour Party also lamented against the Opposition's behaviour with regard to Fearne,
The PL said it committed itself to see that the truth emerges and will support the government in its endeavour to recover the money that was allegedly used for a campaign against the former minister.
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