Silvio Zammit denies charges of bribery.

John Dalli did not feature in a lunch between the man charged with trying to bribe the former European Health Commissioner and tobacco lobbyists, a witness said yesterday.

According to the police, it was at this lunch that Silvio Zammit, who denies charges of bribery, bragged about his close friendship with Mr Dalli and how easily he could contact him.

Present for the lunch, held in Stockholm in 2011, were also Mr Zammit’s friend Mario Mercieca, Inge Delfosse, general secretary of the European Smokeless Tobacco Council, ESTOC, and Rupini Bergstrom, from Swedish Match, a smokeless tobacco producer.

Contrary to what the police have alleged, Mr Dalli’s name was not mentioned during lunch when snus, a smokeless tobacco product, was discussed, Mr Mercieca testified yesterday in the case against Mr Zammit.

Saying he had known Mr Zammit from birth, Mr Mercieca said he was a very close friend and had worked for him at his Sliema restaurant as a barman.

“Mr Dalli was not mentioned,” Mr Mercieca insisted when cross-examined by Police Inspector Jonathan Ferris.

He said that, as he was feeling somewhat depressed, Mr Zammit suggested the two of them go abroad as they had done in the past. They travelled to London, Bulgaria and also Italy, and this time round Mr Zammit said he had arranged a trip to Sweden and they went along.

In Sweden, Mr Zammit received a phone call from a woman named Inge who invited them to Stockholm for lunch. They caught a train and met Inge and another woman, named Rupini, at the station and went for a meal, the witness said.

Lunch took about an hour and a half and snus was discussed but Mr Dalli was never mentioned, Mr Mercieca said, adding that Mr Zammit had made and received phone calls during lunch.

After lunch, Ms Delfosse gave Mr Zammit a present and the two men left in a taxi.

Asked whether he had ever seen Gayle Kimberley, the Maltese lawyer who represented Swedish Match, at Mr Zammit’s Sliema restaurant, Mr Mercieca said he had when she visited with her former lover, Iosif Galea.

At the end of the sitting, the prosecuting officer said foreign witnesses could now testify.

The case will continue on March 13.