The man accompanying the Prime Minister on his recent trip to France is a Maltese businessman who negotiated the French President’s eleventh-hour endorsement of Joseph Muscat during the electoral campaign.

The Office of the Prime Minister confirmed that David Mangion, a tourism consultant who lives in Paris, had been appointed adviser to Dr Muscat for the trip, which took place last week.

Questions were raised by Nationalist MP David Agius in Parliament about the unnamed person accompanying the Prime Minister during his official visit.

A spokesman for the OPM said Mr Mangion had been advising the Prime Minister on matters related to France in recent years.

However, Labour party sources said his most valued contribution of late had been the negotiation of François Hollande’s endorsement of the Labour campaign, which was broadcast on You Tube on the eve of the election.

But questions have been raised even in diplomatic circles about the position given to Mr Mangion during the visit. Protocol, forinstance, lays down that the person at the Prime Minister’sside during an official function should be the ambassador.

However, the seat was reserved for Mr Mangion.

Asked whether this signalled an ambassadorial position for Mr Mangion, the OPM spokesman said: “Mr Mangion is not remunerated in this role, and will not be Ambassador to France. Any changes in the diplomatic corps will be announced in due course.”

However, the spokesman said the Maltese Embassy to France had done a “great job organising the PM’s visit to Paris”. Labour sources said Mr Mangion had only recently collaborated with the party and he had helped with diplomatic connections through his contacts with the French Socialists.

A fluent French speaker, Mr Mangion runs an events and destination management consultancy, Emotion Events, and has also been an accredited Malta Enterprise representative in France.