Nationalist Party MP and candidate Adrian Delia was blocked from filming at St Luke’s Hospital and given a telling off by security officials on site.

Footage uploaded by Delia himself on social media shows the confrontation between him and three members of security inside the hospital complex.

The first frames of the video show a security guard pushing the camera away from him, before then asking the camera man to film him, and another security guard confronting Delia directly.

Delia and the security guard then proceed to speak over each other.

Delia said that he is at St Luke’s Hospital after the government announced an investment of €1.5 billion in a place where €900 million was already supposed to have been invested.

“We are here to show the credibility of this government, and instead of being able to show you where the money of the Maltese and Gozitan people was spent we have three security guards who think they are going to stop us, censor us, or arrest us,” Delia said.

The security guard meanwhile said that they were in a place where the capturing of photos and videos is not permitted, and that “there is a sign as big as a car” which says as much.

“Here there has to be permission to film, like with any other hospital,” the security guard said as he insisted that the cameraman keeps on filming.  “Where is the hospital?” Delia retorted, as the camera panned to show a wall of broken window shutters.

Delia insisted to the security guard to let him into the ‘hospital’, to which the guard retorted: “Didn’t you leave it this way? Do you know that when you left to Mater Dei you left this for the pigeons?”

Delia fired back: “Did you pay the €900 million, or the minister?” – “That’s what you are saying,” the guard replied. “Of course, it’s what I’m saying because it’s not true, right – just as long as you kick me out and not let me speak,” Delia retorted.

The footage then ends.

Delia uploaded the footage on social media on Wednesday afternoon, a day after the government announced a 15-year, €1.5 billion health sector masterplan which includes work at St Luke’s Hospital and the Gozo General Hospital.

St Luke’s Hospital was part of a government concession first granted by the Labour government to Vitals Global Healthcare and then shifted to Steward Health Care – a concession which was struck down by a court as it was deemed to be fraudulent.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his then Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, former Health Ministers Konrad Mizzi and Chris Fearne, and former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna are all facing criminal charges over the concession.

The PL described the incident as a “political stunt”, saying that Delia’s behaviour is condemnable. “That’s how much the PN cares about workers,” the party said.  It appealed for calm and appealed for nobody to fall “for this type of provocation.”