S&D MEP Ana Gomes, Head of the ad-hoc European Parliament Delegation which had come to Malta after the rule of law debate in the EP, has reiterated calls for former FIAU and police investigator Jonathan Ferris to be granted whistleblower status.
She says that she has been monitoring developments concerning the application for whistleblower status, and notes that progress in this regard is very slow, "since a decision to grant Jonathan Ferris whistleblower status has yet to materialise. The status had already been requested when the EP Delegation visited Malta, on 31 November-1st December 2017."
"I believe that the information in Mr Ferris's possession may be important" said the Socialist MEP. "I call again on the Maltese government to ensure he is given whistleblower status and to take all appropriate measures to ensure adequate protection to him and his family,"
Gomes said: "I am disturbed to hear that he is being asked to divulge information to the Office of the Prime Minister prior to being granted the status. If that is confirmed, it is totally unacceptable - particularly when the said information may include further relevant elements about a Minister and the Chief of the Office of the Prime Minister, persons who were already exposed in Panama Papers but are kept in Government", she stated.
It was recently revealed, in a judicial protest by Ferris, that he was asked by an OPM unit to disclose all information he had before actually being granted whistleblower status.
In a separate statement, PN MEP David Casa said that he strongly supports the call made by Ana Gomes to expediently grant Jonathan Ferris whistleblower status.
"Ferris is being asked to divulge information to the Office of the Prime Minister prior to his being granted this status. This is dangerous and contemptible - particularly because the information in his possession is likely to feature people in the Office of the Prime Minister," Casa said.
"Former FIAU employee Jonathan Ferris met with the delegation investigating the rule of law in Malta. It is clear that Ferris, because of his previous roles, has information related to criminal activity of senior government officials."
"Muscat's government uses every opportunity to remind us that it is they that introduced legislation on whistleblowers. Jonathan Ferris is exactly the kind of person that this legislation should seek to protect. Unfortunately whistlebowers are only protected when they can be used as a tool against the Opposition. When this is not the case every effort is made to discredit, deride and undermine them", Casa said.