Interior Ministry chief of staff Silvio Scerri said yesterday he planned to sue television presenter John Bundy for libel over statements on the termination of Norman Vella’s redeployment with PBS.
Mr Bundy said he would welcome the court case “with open arms” because what he had said was “the truth and nothing but the truth”.
Mr Vella told the Employment Commission that Mr Bundy told him he had heard Mr Scerri issue the order for him to be returned to his job at the Immigration Department.
Mr Bundy told Times of Malta earlier this week he had met Mr Vella and told him he was present at the ministry when he heard Mr Scerri issue the order over the phone.
Contacted again yesterday, Mr Bundy added that he also knew who was on the other end of the line but did not wish to name the person.
“I have absolutely no problem with any libel suit because I have nothing to fear and nothing to hide. I am not scared of the truth and I know that what I said is the truth because I never lied about anyone or anything,” he said.
I have nothing to fear and nothing to hide. I am not scared of the truth
“Not only do I stand by what I told you but my version will never change because it’s the truth. There were only three people in the room at the time: Scerri, myself and another person.”
However, Mr Scerri adamantly denies any involvement.
“I will sue Bundy because he lied. I have nothing to hide because I did not take the decision. It is only the permanent secretary who takes such decisions and I did not get into it,” he said yesterday.
Public Broadcasting Services Limited CEO, Anton Attard, insisted yesterday he was not subjected to any pressure to terminate Mr Vella’s redeployment.
“The only instructions I had received were in writing, from the permanent secretary at the ministry, requesting back the services of Mr Vella. I did not receive any instructions from Mr Scerri,” he said.
The Employment Commission is hearing a case Mr Vella instituted against Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar claiming political discrimination in the way he was redeployed from PBS to the Immigration Department.
Mr Vella is the former presenter of television programme TVHemm and also contested the European Parliament elections on the Nationalist Party’s ticket.