British businessman and multimillionaire Paul Bailey is to bear the primary responsibility for causing the supercar crash which injured 23 people during the Paqpaqli Għall-Istrina motor show event in October, an inquiry has concluded.

Led by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera and involving 13 experts, the inquiry established that the Porsche 918 Spyder had no mechanical faults and the crash was a direct result of excessive speed and a lack of handling techniques and corrective measures to regain control of the vehicle.

Although Mr Bailey was an avid collector and enthusiast of hybrid supercars, he lacked the expertise of trained professional drivers in handling such supercars.

Two employees from the Office of the President said in every meeting they had with the core committee, the plan was for Mr Bailey’s four supercars to be placed on display only.

The 1,700-page inquiry also attributed secondary responsibility to the 11 volunteers who formed part of an ad hoc organisational committee operating under the auspices of the President.

The person most identifiable with the event is Tonio Darmanin, but Justice Minister Owen Bonnici cautioned against revealing names because each person carried out different tasks and therefore had varying degrees of responsibility.

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was not involved with the event’s organisation or preparatory meetings in any way and the inquiry found no evidence of responsibility to be shouldered from her end.