PN airs new parts of conversation between Zarb and contractor

The Nationalist Party this evening aired new sections of a recorded conversation in which GWU general secretary Tony Zarb is heard telling a contractor he could help when it came to tenders if his company had a good relationship with the union - especially if there was a change of government. The GWU yesterday said that the recording was deceitful as it was heavily edited and Mr Zarb today filed a libel suit against Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier, PN president Marthese Portelli and medialink head of news Nathaniel Attard. The PN aired new parts of the recording during a news conference at the PN headquarters in Pieta this afternoon. In the part of the conversation aired today, the contractor is asked whether he thought an article like that would have appeared in the union’s newspapers if his workers were in the union. Dr Borg Olivier said that in his discussion with the contractor, Mr Zarb made two grievous errors - when he said that he would help the contractor move tenders along and when he blackmailed him using the union’s media. “This is pre-meditated corruption,” he said. Dr Borg Olivier added that whether or not precarious employment...