The Strickland Foundation has issued a response to Robert Hornyold Strickland's article titled: 'It is up to the Courts to decide whether my claims are justified'
Strickland Foundation's full reply
Judge Emeritus Giovanni Bonello, Chairman of The Strickland Foundation refers to the article entitled "It is up to the Courts to decide whether my claims are justified - Mr Robert Hornyold Strickland" published on The Malta Independent website on 7 April 2021.
On a general note, the Foundation would like to echo the sentiment expressed by the Chairman of Allied Group that the timing of these statements by a minority shareholder are totally inappropriate given the current situation which calls for all shareholders to rally around the company.
That said, the Foundation feels obliged to make brief reference to the points raised by Mr Hornyold Strickland.
Mr Robert Hornyold Strickland evidently is keen to talk about on-going court cases yet is less comfortable to write about the fact that the Court has been rejecting a number of his claims. In its 2018 judgment, the Court rejected Mr Hornyold Strickland's interpretation of the provision of Ms Mabel Strickland's will with regard to Villa Parisio and decided that his right of use and habitation is limited to those areas of the villa indicated by the executors of the will. Despite this judgement, Mr Hornyold Strickland to this very day continues to occupy the entire villa with the Foundation continuing to pay for its upkeep and utility bills while being denied any use whatsoever of its rightful seat.
The Court also rejected outright five of the seven claims Mr Robert Hornyold Strickland made, about land interconnected with Villa Parisio and structures on that land. His demand for the Court to order the Foundation to give him a detailed account of administration was also rejected. In a separate judgement of the Criminal Court, Mrs. Hornyold Strickland was also found guilty of having harassed the Foundation's employee.
As to the reservations Mr Hornyold Strickland purports to have held about the appointment of Mr Adrian Hillman as Managing Director of Allied Newspapers Ltd in 2012, these do not arise from the minutes of the Annual General Meeting which, on the contrary, show Mr Hornyold Strickland seconding the motion for Mr Hillman's appointment and voting in favour. The Foundation finds it puerile for a shareholder to make such statements today about corporate decisions made in good faith years back about an individual who the shareholders and the Board of Directors trusted, and who had been serving for years as Managing Director of Progress Press Co Limited.
Mr Robert Hornyold Strickland also claimed that Dr Mario de Marco effectively 'controls' The Strickland Foundation. Dr Mario de Marco is only one of five members of the Council of the Foundation. The role and voting rights of each member of the Council are equal. No member of the Council is more equal or more key than others. Each Council member was appointed for the diverse qualities and experience they bring to the Foundation.
Furthermore, contrary to Mr Hornyold Strickland's assertion, no member of the Council was co-opted by any member. All new Council members, other than the original members appointed by Mabel Strickland, are voted in by unanimity of the existing Council members.
Mr Hornyold Strickland also saw fit to attribute intentions to the late Prof Guido de Marco, a former Council member, about events in the 1970s and 80s (before the Foundation was even created) related to the Strickland family and Ms Mabel Strickland's wishes. Unfortunately, both Professor de Marco and Ms Strickland are deceased, so it is gratuitous of Mr Hornyold Strickland to make assertions as to who she would have appointed to the Board of Allied Newspapers Ltd. The fact remains that in her lifetime she chose to appoint Mr Hornyold Strickland's brother Henry as Director, who has been a valid member of the Board since 1988 and enjoys the confidence of all shareholders.
Finally, Mr Hornyold Strickland claimed that the shares in Allied Newspapers Ltd bequeathed to The Strickland Foundation should have been passed on to him. The truth is that these shares were expressly bequeathed by Mabel Strickland in her will in favour of the Foundation, which she created before her death. There is nothing irregular in the transmission of such shares in favour of the Foundation as they respect her express written will. Mr Hornyold Strickland has spent the last years challenging the legitimacy of the Foundation, his aunt's bequest of the shares to the Foundation, the right of the Foundation to operate from Villa Parisio, etc., showing ill-will and causing disruption to the very ideals which his aunt wanted to keep alive with the Foundation.
In fact, it is worth reminding that amongst the objectives set out by Ms Strickland for the Foundation included: the promotion of democratic principles, the observance of human rights, the exercise of a free press, improving the standard of Maltese journalism and the preservation of its freedom and independence, upholding the European character of Malta and its continued presence in the Commonwealth. And there is also the noble objective of assisting in such manner and within the means available employees of the Allied Group and their families. It is regrettable that Mr Hornyold Strickland is picking and choosing as it suits him from his aunt's will to yet again distort facts and slander people. Instead the Strickland Foundation encourages him to align with and support it so that his aunt's ideals will continue in a stronger Allied Group as it moves on from these challenging times.