Nobody will replace Fearne in Cabinet as OPM absorbs EU funds portfolio

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Chris Fearne, will not be replaced in Cabinet, with his portfolio being absorbed within the Office of the Prime Minister.

The announcement was made by the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday afternoon.

Fearne resigned his post – despite Prime Minister Robert Abela’s best efforts to convince him otherwise – as Deputy Prime Minister and EU Funds Minister on Friday, after he was charged in connection with the hospitals inquiry.

His portfolio – which included EU Funds, Equality, Reforms and Social Dialogue – have now been absorbed within the responsibilities of the Office of the Prime Minister.

Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue, Andy Ellul, and Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms, Rebecca Buttigieg, will retain identical responsibilities, but will now fall within the Office of the Prime Minister, the statement read.

Fearne has been accused of fraud and misappropriation after the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry into the Vitals deal, which saw the Government transfer three hospitals to the private sector. The deal has since been rescinded after a court had ruled it as having been “fraudulent”.

In his resignation letter, Fearne maintained his innocence. He said that nobody can be more certain than he is that the courts will find nothing more than his full innocence. “I want to be clear, I am taking this step not because I have any doubts on my innocence, but because this is the right thing to be done”, he wrote.