“The Labour Party does not protect criminals,” Labour President Ramona Attard claimed.  Labour not only protects; it promotes them.

In her attempt to shield criminals and deflect public attention from corruption,  Attard commented: “What really counts is how people feel… and right now, people are concerned with other things”.

When a frustrated interviewer challenged her – what about Keith Schembri’s $5.5 million bribes? – Attard reproduced verbatim Joseph Muscat’s deceitful post.  “The charges concern a business transaction between private entities which started under a PN government”. The Labour Party president regurgitates the lies of the disgraced former leader, intended to protect criminals.

That’s no surprise. Ramona Attard, like Muscat and countless others now in Cabinet, parliament and positions of trust, was steeped in the art of deceit at the fortress of artifice – ONE. Labour has refined the protection of criminals into an art form.

Toni Abela, when deputy party leader, concealed the presence of hard drugs inside a Labour club. Evarist Bartolo sheltered his canvasser after he solicited bribes and built a €400,000 apartment block in Rabat without loans. When a Gozitan contractor exposed the canvasser’s demand for backhanders, the contractor was himself swiftly prosecuted.

That contractor faced years of persecution until he was proven right. Bartolo rewarded his canvasser, now facing bribery charges, with a Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools ‘super’ post earning over €50,000. When Philip Rizzo went to Joseph Muscat to report the canvasser’s crimes, Muscat attempted to buy Rizzo’s silence by offering him another post.

Banners asking “Who killed Daphne?” were swiftly torn down by the Planning Authority.  The order came from Johann Buttigieg, Muscat’s appointee and Yorgen Fenech’s friend. The court concluded Buttigieg had breached the fundamental human right to free expression.  The Authority was fined €20,000 – paid from our taxes.

Owen Bonnici was found guilty of breaching human rights when he repeatedly ordered the Daphne memorial to be cleared.  Bonnici’s actions were intended to stifle demands for the prosecution of criminals. When Rosianne Cutajar stood up at the Council of Europe to prevent a public inquiry into the murder, her objective was to protect her friend Yorgen.

When Joseph Muscat, Owen Bonnici, Keith Schembri and Christian Kalin from Henley and Partners conspired to proceed with threatening ruinous lawsuits against Daphne Caruana Galizia, there was only one aim – to stop her exposing crimes and protect criminals.

ONE TV’s relentless mockery of Simon Busuttil’s empty boxes aimed to discredit and ridicule those who sought to expose crime. ONE’s crusade had one purpose – to protect criminals. It still does. When media organisations were broadcasting the real owner of Macbridge, ONE news didn’t even mention the company or its links to Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri.

In 2016, Labour voted in parliament to shield Konrad Mizzi despite shocking revelations in the Panama Papers. In 2018, Yorgen Fenech was exposed as the 17 Black owner.  Labour again voted to protect Mizzi from a no confidence vote.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia, former deputy leader, pulled all the stops to prevent a discussion in parliament on Keith Schembri’s criminal actions, ruling that Schembri was not answerable to parliament.

Three different persons accused an ex-government minister and a current minister of involvement in murder and bank robbery. But Labour continues to cover up and protect the criminals.

But Labour also promotes criminals.  Karl Stagno Navarra, with a long history of fraud and several warrants of seizure and garnishee orders ordered by the courts, is the frontman for the Party’s TV station. He was rewarded for his lies, condemned recently by the Broadcasting Authority, with a phoney job at the bankrupt Air Malta – Head of Public Relations.

Cyrus Engerer, condemned to a two-year jail term, became Joseph Muscat’s Sherpa. He was then made EU advisor and is now Labour MEP. Brian Tonna, whose Nexia BT set up the multiple offshore companies for Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi, Cheng Chen, Adrian Hillman and others, was regaled with countless government contracts worth more than €2.4 million, 85% in direct orders. Owen Bonnici gave him a €60,000 per year consultancy post.

John Dalli, disgraced former EU commissioner and fugitive from justice on the pretext of psychological problems, returned to Malta when police commissioner John Rizzo was removed. Joseph Muscat rewarded him with a health consultant post.

Adrian Hillman, another fugitive accused of being Keith Schembri’s partner in swindling The Times, was appointed government representative on the American University of Malta board by Muscat.  Muscat also gifted him a Malta Gaming Authority public relations consultancy earning €4,000 per month, despite knowing of the FIAU reports on his money laundering.

Justyne Caruana awarded her personal friend a €5,000 a month job despite his previous convictions on firearms and threatening “to bury” his ex-wife.

The Labour Party changed its statute to allow Konrad Mizzi to become deputy leader even though his offshore companies had already been revealed – as was his failure to declare them.

The next deputy leader was Chris Cardona who was arrested and questioned about the HSBC heist in 2010 and now implicated in murder.

Joseph Muscat, despite being repeatedly found guilty of breaches of ethics and abuse of power, continues to be protected. Speaker Anglu Farrugia declared him a private citizen and immune to sanctions.

Middleman Melvin Theuma was rewarded with a fake job from Castille.

Edward Scicluna, who attacked and dismantled the FIAU to protect criminals, was made Central Bank governor with a salary increase.

Robert Abela rewarded a police commissioner, who leaked information to criminals, with a consultancy post in public safety. He rewarded Justyne Caruana, who concealed her husband’s close friendship with a suspected murderer he was meant to be investigating, with a ministerial post. He rewarded Konrad Mizzi with the headship of Malta’s delegation to the OSCE.

Knowingly protecting crooks is obstructing justice. Promoting them to leader, deputy leaders, minister, Sherpa, MEP, persons of trust, TV programme host, police commissioner, deputy commissioner, government representatives is State capture by a criminal organisation.