The Armed Forces will not be providing security at the new Parliament building set to be inaugurated in May because of a lack of human resources, according to Speaker Anġlu Farrugia.
The Office of the Speaker is now exploring the possibility of adopting the House of Commons model in the UK, where security is provided by the police force.
Dr Farrugia’s statement came in reply to questions from this newspaper in the wake of an announcement he made during the last House Business Committee meeting on March 11.
During this sitting, the Speaker informed committee members that the army had “refused” to accept their invitation to provide security at the new building, thus bringing a long tradition to an end. The present security arrangement at the Palace in Valletta covers both Parliament and the Office of the President.
A Home Affairs Ministry spokeswoman told The Sunday Times of Malta that the Parliament’s security was not actually in the army’s remit. Yet the same ministry has a number of AFM soldiers deployed at its entrance.
Nevertheless, the reason cited by the Speaker has raised questions about the army’s capabilities to provide security at such an important institution. Questions sent to the AFM had not been answered by the time of writing. This newspaper also spoke to two security experts, who preferred to remain anonymous. They said the military’s refusal left few options, as the police were the only remaining entity authorised to provide armed security.
“Much depends on the political atmosphere in the country, but in normal situations certain roles such as monitoring entry passes at the turnstiles could even be delegated to private security firms. However, the police must be present at all times in case of an imminent threat,” one expert said.
He noted that much would depend on the security assessment being carried out on the new building. From this exercise one would have a general idea of the manpower needed, which also depends on the number of entrances to the building.
Nevertheless when Parliament is in session, the presence of the police is a must, due to the presence of high-profile figures and the threats they could face as a consequence, he said.
As for plans to relocate Monti hawkers to the area adjacent to the Parliament building, another expert cautioned that this could give rise to additional security concerns, especially if the House is in session.
“In that case, spotting a security threat among the crowd would be far more difficult as normally high-security buildings have limited access around them to improve visibility, which is then beefed up by security cameras,” he said.
MPs are set to attend the first sitting in the new building on May 4, but the migration of parliamentary staff is set to start in the coming days.
The Renzo Piano building was set to be inaugurated last October, but the building was not completed on time.