An anonymous blog on the Reuters website describes and condemns the unholy scrum by photographers when Shwejga Mullah, the Ethiopian nanny allegedly injured when Gaddafi’s son Hannibal’s wife Aline threw boiling water on her when she would not beat Gaddafi’s grandchild to stop it from crying, was brought to Malta to be cured at Mater Dei Hospital.

“When the aircraft finally arrived,” the blog says, “it taxied to a spot on the apron right in front of us. We all prepared to move to the foot of the stairs as soon as the engines stopped, when suddenly, some security officers decided we couldn’t approach any closer. They said they hadn’t been consulted regarding our photo position, though for three hours we’d been told the exact opposite.

“Once she boarded the ambulance, everyone decided ‘to hell with the security guards’ and started running forward, creating a scrum around the ambulance door trying to get an image of some sort.

“Personally, I’ve always felt that once a patient is inside an ambulance, then they’re entitled to their privacy and should be left alone. I was somewhat disgusted at the pushing and shoving taking place, though I can understand the pressure my colleagues would have been under to get a usable image.

“After exchanging a few angry words with the security personnel who were responsible for this ruckus and bringing my profession into disrepute, I noticed that a high-ranking government official was helping some cameramen into the ambulance. So, I deduced Shwejga herself must have had no problem with the cameras.

“The crew of the US TV network (CNN), which had originally broken her story, was even joining her in the ambulance for the journey to the island’s main hospital, so it seemed like a good time to shelf what I thought was a sacred principle.

“It seemed to no longer really apply and as the saying goes – if you can’t beat them, join them. So into the melee I plunged and came away with some tight portraits, which I hoped preserved the dignity of this quiet and demure woman.”

So it was very surprising to find that on his Facebook page, PN Secretary General Paul Borg Olivier not only praised bringing the nanny to Malta but also pointed out that a journalist from NET, the PN-owned television station, Daniela Bartolo, was inside the ambulance along with the nanny.

Dr Borg Olivier then plugged the event at the Independence Day celebrations, which on Friday focused on the events in Libya.