James Caterers unconditionally withdraws threatening letter to National Audit Office

Parliament has closed a case of breach of privilege against James Caterers after the company unconditionally withdrew a threatening letter it sent the National Audit Office.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia gave the ruling on Monday afternoon after the NAO informed him that the issue had been resolved after an exchange of correspondence with James Caterers.

Farrugia said the company unconditionally withdrew a threatening letter it sent in February and offered to cooperate fully with the NAO investigation into the award of a contract by the St Vincent De Paul Residence to James Caterers (JCL) and Malta Healthcare (MHC) in November 2017. The Public Accounts Committee had requested the investigation on 28 August 2018.

The investigation concerned a catering contract that was allowed to develop into a full-blow hospital wing for the State home for the elderly.

In a letter to the Public Accounts Committee last February, the NAO had said James Caterers wrote to it explaining it was close to signing off on a large international export contract of high value, and that any adverse public comments made about the company or the consortium will directly impact the negotiations.

The catering company had threatened to hold the NAO and its officers personally responsible for any reputational or material damage they would incur as a result of the audit.

Last month, the Speaker ruled that the catering giant breached parliamentary privilege when it threatened to hold the NAO liable for any material damages.

However, the case has now been closed after the NAO reported that the company had unconditionally withdrawn the letter and pledged to cooperate.