The Office of the Prime Minister yesterday gave a new reason to justify the urgent use of an AFM helicopter to ferry a Labour MP from Gozo to Malta last Tuesday in time to catch a flight to France.
On Wednesday, the OPM said Justyne Caruana needed to take part in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) in Marseille because she had to “submit two reports”.
However, yesterday it emerged that Dr Caruana only had one report to present to the assembly and this was done on Monday in her absence.
In the light of this new information, the PM’s spokesman yesterday still defended the government’s decision. This time, however, he justified her presence as being for an item in relation to the renewal agreement for PAM’s secretariat premises at Palazzo Spinola in St Julian’s.
“She (Dr Caruana) also submitted a memorandum to the assembly regarding the operational aspect of the PAM,” he said.
While Dr Caruana yesterday continued to ignore questions and failed to answer phone calls, on her Facebook wall she posted her observations about “the similarities in architecture” she saw between Marseille and Malta.
It is not true that Dr Caruana had two reports on the agenda of this session
Sources at the Marseille meeting yesterday rubbished the justification issued by the Maltese government on Wednesday night, that Dr Caruana’s presence was needed for the submission of her report.
“Dr Caruana was entrusted to prepare a report on the Middle East and present it to the assembly. As she was not here on Monday, the report was presented by a Portuguese MP in her stead,” the sources said.
The same sources confirmed that the only other report presented to the assembly was penned by Italian MP Giorgio Girgis Sorial on public sector corruption in the Mediterranean.
“It is not true that Dr Caruana had two reports on the agenda of this session,” the sources said, contradicting the OPM’s initial declaration.
Times of Malta yesterday reported on the use of an AFM helicopter to transport Dr Caruana from Gozo to Malta while the sea ferry was in full service.
On the orders of the OPM, the helicopter was seen picking up the MP and her luggage from the helipad at the Gozo hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
Although the AFM normally uses the Xewkija heliport, the aircraft landed at the hospital because, according to sources, “it was more convenient for Dr Caruana”.
The Labour MP, who arrived in Marseille for the conference together with another MP on Sunday afternoon, was immediately ordered to return to Malta on the same day so she could be present for an urgent debate on a motion in Parliament over the citizenship scheme on Monday evening.
According to sources, Dr Caruana “was not very amused” by this decision and made her thoughts very clear even though she obeyed the order.
Dr Caruana returned to the airport on Tuesday to fly back for the last day of the Marseille conference on Wednesday. It was the AFM helicopter, rather than the Gozo boat, that ferried her directly to her awaiting flight.
According to the OPM, Dr Caruana’s Marseille flight ticket was purchased late on Tuesday morning and sent to the Labour MP at around 12.15pm.
Dr Caruana was seen boarding the awaiting helicopter at 1pm.
The OPM said the use of the helicopter was necessary due to a last-minute decision for Dr Caruana to return to Marseille, only taken on Tuesday morning by the Labour Party Whip Carmelo Abela.
Asked for a breakdown of the costs connected with the use of the helicopter by Dr Caruana, the OPM declined to reply.
“The cost is not different from any other flight the AFM made on frivolous instances such as attending a wedding, the opera or opening a crib,” the OPM’s spokesman said.
“It is not only the previous Prime Minister who made use of the AFM service but also other members of the Gonzi administration.”