Abela: No documented legal advice at OPM on Vitals deal

The Prime Minister has said there is no documented legal advice on the Vitals Global Healthcare hospitals concession.

Nationalist MP Mark Anthony Sammut asked Prime Minister Robert Abela to table a copy of legal advice former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he had in his office regarding the concession and agreements with Vitals.

Following the landmark decision by the court to annul all the concession of the three public hospitals to Vitals and Steward, Muscat insisted that contracts had all been approved by the cabinet.

Muscat said at every stage of the hospital concession, “which included hospitals that had been abandoned or closed for years, [decisions] were done with continuous discussions and documented decisions of the cabinet."

“For the deal to happen, the process had to undergo legal scrutiny,” Muscat said.

"In the Office of the Prime Minister there is no similar advice. I confirm that I had no role regarding the concession and agreement with Vitals Global Healthcare," Abela said, replying to Sammut’s parliamentary question.