Brian Tonna set to appear before public accounts committee today
Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna is set to appear before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for the second time today, as he will have to face questions related to the Electrogas deal after the Speaker’s ruling on Monday.
The first time Tonna was called in to appear before the committee, he invoked his right to silence. Tonna was on that day being represented by lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell, who told the committee that he had advised his client not to answer any questions as he is facing an investigation on this subject. PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami, who chairs this committee, had said that neither he nor the public is aware of any criminal proceedings open on Electrogas specifically. Tonna Lowell had stated that from questions asked by a magisterial inquiry, Tonna may be considered a suspect in relation to criminal investigations into Electrogas. “I have given him this advice [to remain silent] because it seems he is a suspect - so we are asking that he be allowed to exercise his right to silence,” Tonna Lowell continued.
Brian Tonna proceeded not to answer questions put forward by the committee, and a ruling was requested. The Speaker’s decision was given on Monday.
Contacted by
PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami, who is the PAC’s president, indicated to this newsroom that things could be a little different this time round.
The Speaker’s ruling, he said, basically means that Tonna has the right not to answer questions if they incriminate him, which is different from just saying that he opts not to answer. This is the difference from the stand Tonna took last week, he explained
“The right to silence is not absolute and Tonna may only refuse to answer questions which incriminate him,” Fenech Adami said, as per the Speaker’s ruling.
Contacted by this newsroom and asked what would happen if Tonna refuses to answer the most basic questions, the Speaker said that the committee will need to see first. “We have to wait,” he said, adding that he cannot answer that now.