The chairman of the editorial board at PBS has been told by Dr Kevin Aquilina, the CEO of the Broadcasting Authority, not to broadcast the inauguration of the Mater Dei Hospital live next Friday evening.

PBS was also told not to allow Xarabank to broadcast from the hospital as soon as the ceremony is over.

These two prohibitions enraged government yesterday, more so after it was found out that no Broadcasting Authority board seems to have discussed these subjects.

Dr Aquilina told PBS that it should carry a report of the inauguration in the news or in current events programmes.

But the government argues that among the other live broadcasts by PBS there were the Small Nations Games, CHOGM, the canonisation of Dun Gorg, the installation of the new archbishop and the bishop of Gozo. Opening another new public hospital in almost 100 years surely constitutes a national event, government sources argued.

As regards Xarabank, Dr Kevin Aquilina seemed to imply that Where’s Everybody (WE) had done PR work for Mater Dei. However, WE sources told this newspaper the company had only done filming and editing of TV spots on the hospital and was not involved in any editorial advertising work.