Malta’s permanent representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana, this week revealed the names of the PN’s secret strategy group during the libel case brought against MaltaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan.
Cachia Caruana was ordered to divulge these names after Magistrate Silvio Meli, determined the information was relevant to the case after Cachia Caruana’s legal counsel objected to the question put to him by Balzan’s lawyer.
In his answer, Cachia Caruana confirmed that the pre-2008 strategy group consisted of himself, former PN secretary-general Joe Saliba, the Prime Minister, the PM’s personal assistant Edgar Galea Curmi, deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg, former Air Malta chairman and MISCO director Lawrence Zammit, former Information secretary Gordon Pisani and on occasions former In-Nazzjon editor John Zammit.
Cachia Caruana, formerly a personal assistant to Eddie Fenech Adami, insisted he was no longer a member of the strategy group. He said that minutes of the meetings were not kept, there was no fixed agenda, and that no journalists were invited to the meeting.
Cachia Caruana has sued Saviour Balzan for libel over an opinion article in which Balzan opines that Cachia Caruana was behind most of the spin appearing in PN-leaning media.
Questioned in court if he had ever hosted journalists at his home, Cachia Caruana would not specify whether Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia had been one of his guests, but said she had been invited on one or two instances with her husband.
When asked if he had ever invited Ivan Camilleri, the Times’ Brussels correspondent, to his home, Cachia Caruana told the court that since Camilleri’s wife was employed at the permanent representation in Brussels, it was “not unreasonable” that Camilleri would be invited to his home.
Ivan Camilleri, brother of Alan Camilleri, formerly a spokesperson for Lawrence Gonzi and now Malta Enterprise chairman, was accused by outgoing minister John Dalli of having spun stories for the government inside the Times, in a bid to put pressure on the minister to resign in 2004.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Search:
MALTATODAY
BUSINESSTODAY
Download MaltaToday Sunday issue front page in pdf file format
