A senior, elected Labour official is being named by government sources as the mole behind the leak to the Sunday Times on the state of health of Labour leader Alfred Sant.
Sant had a growth in his colon removed in a major operation, but the Sunday Times reported the growth to be malignant, even though medical bulletins issued by the MLP and surgeon Anthony Zammit had never confirmed this information.
“I can assure you we would not tolerate such spin or gossiping on such a very personal matter,” a government source said yesterday.
“Furthermore, the medical team consisted of three top consultants who are all respected are known for their Labour sympathies, as were the paramedics who served on the team. It was next to impossible for the personal medical history to have been divulged by any of this team.
“I am sorry, but the real source of Dr Sant’s condition was divulged by one of his closest collaborators who spoke directly to journalists, an individual well known for his leadership ambitions.”
The sources were reacting to last week’s story in MaltaToday on Sunday, quoting a senior Labour official, and a Sant acolyte, insisting that confidential information on Sant had been divulged by Mater Dei staff.
But government sources hit back saying they remained tight-lipped when approached by journalists enquiring on Sant’s state of health, even though they were aware of certain details. Everyone from Mater Dei superintendent Dr Frank Bartolo, to top government officials were expressly told not to talk to the press. “On such serious matters we have no intention of scoring political points,” MaltaToday was told.