James Caterers guilty of breaching parliamentary privilege with threatening letter to National Audit Office
Speaker Anġlu Farrugia rules that James Caterers breached parliamentary privilege when it threatened to hold the NAO liable for any material damages as a result of an ongoing investigation into a St Vincent de Paul tender
8 March 2021, 4:45pm
by Karl Azzopardi
The Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia has ruled that James Caterers broke parliamentary privilege in a letter sent to the National Audit Office.
Farrugia said the catering giant breached parliamentary privilege when it threatened to hold the NAO liable for any material damages as a result of an ongoing investigation.
The managing director of James Caterers’ Ltd was in breach of parliamentary privilege when he wrote to Auditor General Charles Deguara warning him of possible legal action if negative comments were made about the company.
Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled that the catering giant had breached parliamentary privilege when it threatened to hold the NAO liable for any material damages as a result of an ongoing investigation.
Last week, Auditor General Charles Deguara accused the catering company of trying to intimidate the National Audit Office and influence an investigation into a St Vincent de Paul facility contract.
In a letter to the NAO, James Barbara, founder of the catering company, warned he would hold national audit officers personally responsible for any reputational damage that could stem from an audit into two tenders linked to the state home.
Speaker set to rule on James Caterers intimidating letter to auditor general timesofmalta.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofmalta.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A letter by the managing director of James Caterers, which threatened the National Audit Office (NAO) with legal action, was in breach of parliamentary privilege, Speaker Anglu Farrugia has ruled.
Last week, it emerged that the company’s managing director James Barbara had written to the NAO threatening to take legal action against it and its officers, should an ongoing investigation portray the company in a bad light.
In a ruling delivered in Parliament this evening, upon the request of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Farrugia ruled that the company had in fact breached parliamentary privilege.
The NAO is in the process of auditing tenders awarded to the company in relation to St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly. While the original 2015 tender was for the provision of meals and a kitchen, it eventually developed into a project to extend the home. The multi-million euro deal was won by a consortium, which includes James Caterers Ltd.
The auditor general has accused catering company James Caterers of trying to intimidate and influence an investigation into a controversial contract at a state home for the elderly.
In a letter to the National Audit Office, James Catering Ltd warned it would hold NAO officers personally responsible for any reputational damage from an audit into two tenders linked to the Saint Vincent de Paul facility.
The NAO is assessing a 2015 tender that began as a request for meals and a kitchen at the Luqa home and morphed into a second project to extend the facility.
It was won by a consortium that includes James Caterers and another firm that forms part of the DB group.