Labour MPs in ‘unreserved condemnation’ of Steward disinformation campaign on Fearne

Labour’s parliamentary group has called on the government to recover any monies Steward Healthcare would have used from the hospitals PPP concession to carry out a campaign of fabricated news against former deputy prime minister Chris Fearne.

Fearne, who resigned his post as minister after being charged on crimes alleged in the magisterial inquiry dealing with the privatisation, was revealed to have been the target of a covert campaign to discredit him.

The PL group, in a meeting on Thursday, issued a statement of solidarity with Fearne, who is still Labour’s deputy leader for parliamentary affairs.

“The Labour parliamentary group did not have the slightest doubt of the integrity and seriousness of Chris Fearne, who has always acted in the interest of the Maltese people even in the most trying times.”

The Labour parliamentarians unreservedly condemned the campaign of fabrication against Fearne. “Fearne deserves full justice for this campaign of false stories, and for those responsible to be held fully accountable for them. Justice must be made with the Maltese people as well, and if such a campaign was financed through concession monies, these be recovered in addition to the government’s claims against Steward Healthcare.”

Prime Minister Robert Abela stated that he will ask the legal team representing Malta in international arbitration on the fraudulent hospitals concession to investigate reports that concession funds were used by Steward to hire private intelligence firms to target key opponents and critics, including Health Minister Chris Fearne.

Steward Healthcare hired a London-based private intelligence firm, to create a damaging report accusing the health minister of accepting a substantial bribe. This report was subsequently circulated among journalists, aiming to discredit the minister.

Steward Healthcare, currently at the centre of a controversial hospital management deal, engaged private intelligence firms to target key opponents and critics, including Health Minister Chris Fearne.

According to documents obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and shared with Times of Malta and the Boston Globe, Steward clashed with the Maltese health minister over the terms of its agreement to manage several hospitals in Malta.

In response, Steward enlisted CT Group, a London-based private intelligence firm, to create a damaging report accusing the health minister of accepting a substantial bribe. This report was subsequently circulated among journalists, aiming to discredit the minister.

These bribery claims started to appear in several Pakistani news portals, and eventually made their way to a Brussels-based and a Ukrainian news outlet. The claims alleged that Fearne’s chief of staff, Carmen Ciantar, received thousands in payments from a company linked to Vitals Global Healthcare.

READ ALSO: Carmen Ciantar’s bribery allegations: Where are they coming from?

Nationalist Party hits back

In a separate statement responding to the Labour Party, the Nationalist Party said Robert Abela and his cabinet of ministers should not oppose its court case against the State Advocate to recover the public funds spent on the hospitals privatisation deal.

"The Labour Party's parliamentary group can only be considered credible if it ensures that the government, led by Robert Abela, joins the Nationalist Party to recover the people's money," the statement reads.