Ronnie Pellegrini, a former acolyte of Labour minister Lorry Sant, is occupying an apparently undefined role in Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli’s secretariat.

The Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia reported on her blog last week that the Department of Information’s (DOI) website was showing Mr Pellegrini as Dr Dalli’s chief of staff.

Mr Pellegrini has a long and chequered history with the Labour Party, and was associated with a number of violent acts in the 1980s.

He went on to take up a role as a General Workers’ Union (GWU) section manager, before being seconded to the Labour Party in 2008 thanks to his close ties with then secretary general Jason Micallef, who now heads the V-18 Foundation.

Asked yesterday if Mr Pellegrini has been hired as her chief of staff, Dr Dalli said: “No, he works in the ministry.”

Dr Dalli could not explain the apparent anomaly on the DOI’s website.

Asked who her chief of staff is, Dr Dalli said she does not have one at the moment.

Dr Dalli wasn’t particularly forthcoming about Mr Pellegrini’s role in the ministry, simply saying “he works in the secretariat.”

Pressed on what Mr Pellegrini’s job title is, Dr Dalli said there is a lot that needs doing in the secretariat, and Mr Pellegrini works as a secretariat officer.