Inquiry board holds first meeting

The independent inquiry board appointed by the Prime Minister to probe the death of Gunner Matthew Psaila after an incident during army training has started its work.

Sources said the board, headed by Judge Victor Caruana Colombo, has met at least once.

The other members of the board are former army commander and member of the Public Service Commission, John Spiteri, and former Civil Aviation Department director general Joe Sultana.

An internal probe and a magisterial inquiry were launched straight after the incident on February 13. Then, last Monday, the Prime Minister unexpectedly announced a third probe after questions were raised about the internal investigation being carried out by the army.

Over the weekend, the Labour media and the General Workers' Union's weekly It-Torca reported that the investigation was being handled by an officer who was responsible for the army's overall health and safety. The Labour media raised an issue with the officer's potential conflict of interest and It-Torca reported that the officer who usually conducted such inquiries was left out of the army's internal investigation. (The Times wrongly reported yesterday that It-Torca had reported that the officer conducting the investigation might have a conflict of interest. The error is regretted.)

The third inquiry will examine all aspects of the operation of the army's C Company, which includes both the training and procedural aspects.

It will look into the training provided and its command processes; the training programmes and ancillary issues with the aim of determining whether such training was reasonable; all the circumstances relating to the fatal incident, and make recommendations it deems appropriate in light of the conclusions it reaches.

In comments to The Times, a spokesman for Office of the Prime Minister confirmed that the health and safety officer of Gunner Psaila's company, C Company, was on site at Chadwick Lakes when the incident occurred on February 13.