Labour MP Justyne Caruana, who travelled by army helicopter from Gozo to catch a flight to Marseille last Tuesday, yesterday fended off accusations of abuse of power, insisting that her presence at a conference in Marseille “was of national interest”.
“I am not going to elaborate further why my presence was necessary,” she told The Sunday Times of Malta.
“However, I can only tell you that my presence there was of specific national importance as there was an issue which could have gone wrong.”
Dr Caruana distanced herself from the decision to use an army helicopter to be in time to catch a flight, insisting that the Office of the Prime Minister was responsible.
“I don’t decide where I go and how. The decision that I should go immediately to Marseille at such a short notice was not mine and I didn’t ask for a helicopter. However, since the decision for me to travel was made at such a late hour, transport by helicopter was the only option possible to make it on time for the flight.”
According to the Office of the Prime Minister, late on Tuesday morning Dr Caruana was asked by the whip of Labour’s Parliamentary group Carmelo Abela to attend the last day of an ongoing Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean.
Since the decision was taken late in the day, Dr Caruana – who lives in Gozo – was offered the services of an AFM helicopter. Dr Caruana was already on her way to attend the conference in Marseille on Sunday when a phone call from the Labour whip ordered her back to be present for a parliamentary debate on a motion on the controversial citizenship for sale programme the next day.
Asked to explain why she was instructed to turn back when the OPM knew that a vote on Monday was not necessary, Dr Caruana said: “I have no idea and don’t know what was going on in the background. I just received an order and I had to comply.”
Dr Caruana, as head of the Maltese delegation, had been preparing for the Marseille conference for a long time and was the author of two reports which had to be submitted to the assembly. Since she was called back, her reports had to be submitted by other MPs on her behalf.
Calling the news about her use of the helicopter as an “unwarranted polemic”, she hit back at critics and claimed former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had even used the helicopter service to attend a baptism service.
When it was pointed out that Dr Gonzi was Prime Minister, she replied: “Still, I was not going on a joyride or for a holiday. I was working for Malta. I even hate heights and helicopters.”
Insisting that she did not ignore calls to contact this newspaper when the story first broke, she said she was not in a position to communicate as the battery of her phone ran flat.
However, she said she had instructed the Prime Minister’s spokesman to reply on her behalf.