The public inquiry into the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia has allowed itself to be turned into a ‘political exercise’, Labour MP and Government whip Glenn Bedingfield said.

In a Facebook post, Bedingfield said that the public inquiry into whether the journalist’s murder could have been prevented by the state has very precise terms of reference.

“However, when one sees the way the inquiry has been conducted, it is evident that the process has been marred by ulterior intentions which go against the truth of the facts tied to the assassination itself”, Bedingfield said.

“The intention of the inquiry is for facts to be established, not to entertain conjectures which are lengthening the process and leading to calls for extensions”, Bedingfield added.

His statement comes after the inquiry board, made up of Judge Emeritus Michael Mallia, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino and Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro, asked for an extension to its September deadline. 

The inquiry initially had nine months to reach its conclusions, although the Covid-19 pandemic stopped proceedings in their track for a number of weeks.

Prime Minister Robert Abela ultimately granted a one-time extension till mid-December, however the fact that this extension is just a one-off has riled the Caruana Galizia family, who say that in making such a proviso, the Prime Minister is ensuring the full justice is not served.

Bedingfield however said that had the inquiry board stuck to their terms of reference then they would not need any more extensions, “unless their requests are not tied to other reasons.”

Here, Bedingfield made the observation that Judge Emeritus Mallia is being paid €4,500 per month while Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino is being paid €4,000 per month.  Being a currently sitting Judge, Madam Justice Lofaro has her own salary, Bedingfield noted.

“What the scope of the delay is, I don’t know – but there is some scope to it for sure”, Bedingfield concluded.

Bedingfield himself testified before the public inquiry last February, where he said that Daphne Caruana Galizia “attacked people, humiliated them, and called them anything under the sun” and that Daphne and the people who support her believe that they have the right to speak while others don’t.

PL Whip's comments to 'discredit work of inquiry judges' is a 'threat to the inquiry's independence' - Repubblika

Reacting, civil Society NGO Repubblika took aim at Bedingfield's comments.

The NGO  "warned the Government very clearly that it will use all possible means to resist any threat to the independence of the public inquiry concerning the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia."

"The Prime Minister's comments, and his interfering with what he deems relevant or otherwise to the inquiry, and now, the comments passed by the whip of the Government's parliamentary group that aim to discredit the work of the judges forming the Board of Inquiry, are nothing less than a threat to the independence of the inquiry."

The use of the word independent to describe the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry is not incidental, the NGO said. "The inquiry has to delve into what the government could or could not have done after the journalist's death to ensure that the truth emerges. This is why it is necessary that the inquiry must be independent of any government interference."

"The inquiry has revealed that government action created an atmosphere of impunity that allowed a journalist to be assassinated and that whoever murdered her could think that they could get off scot-free."

The NGO said that it is up to the inquiry to reach its conclusions alone, after having heard all the persons it needs to question, and considered all the evidence it wishes to examine. "An independent inquiry means that no prime minister or whip can decide what is relevant or not or how much time the inquiry needs in order to be satisfied that it has collected enough information."

"However, since this inquiry is public, just like everyone else, the Prime Minister and the Partit Laburista are coming to the conclusion that the evidence does not show them up in a good light. They are responsible for the government that is being investigated in this inquiry, and from what they have heard, it does not seem that they will emerge spotless from this exercise."

Glenn Bedinfield said that this amounts to a 'politicisation' of the process, the group said. "Since this is an examination of the conduct of a government and a party in government, it is obvious that the process will have political ramifications. The partisan interests of the Partit Laburista are not a sacred cow."