Former PN secretary-general knew Zarb recording was edited

Former PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier told a court he could not exhibit a secretly-recorded conversation between General Workers Union secretary-general Tony Zarb and a businessman, as the recording was never in his possession.

Borg Olivier was testifying in a defamation case filed by Zarb over the recording aired on Net TV, during which Borg Olivier alleged that the union boss was using his political influence with Labour to recruit new members to the union. Zarb claims the PN heavily edited the tapes and manipulated a long conversation in order to tarnish his reputation.

Borg Olivier said the recording was delivered to a journalist, whose name he could not remember, and that he had played the recording during a press conference knowing that it had been edited. He said he never had the complete version of the conversation. "I heard the complete 90-minute version during a newsroom meeting, however the journalists and those present at the press conference only heard selected clips. We had to ensure the recording was not reported out of context," he said,

Former PN leader Lawrence Gonzi and then deputy leader Simon Busuttil, and head of new Nathaniel Attard, were not present when the whole 90 minutes were played.

"I heard the conversation not more than three times, but I did not keep the recording. I don't know who had it and had no reason to know who kept it. The decision of not airing the whole conversation was not mine, because I'm not a journalist. However we did not give a copy of the complete conversation to the journalists in order to protect the identity of third parties," Borg Olivier argued.

Borg Olivier also said the clip was aired "on insistence of journalists from PBS, the Independent, The Times, and TVHEMM.

Borg Olivier said he knew businessman Dominic Gafà, the alleged whistleblower in the recording, in the same way he knew Zarb. "I met him and know him, but we never discussed the contents of the recording."

Next on the witness stand was PN assistant secretary-general Jean Pierre Debono who said he never had heard the recording. "I was not involved in the political side of the electoral campaign but my role was strictly linked to the electoral proceedings and district committees. I only heard the clips the  rest of the Malta heard."

The case was postponed to 20 January.