Labour’s richest MP put on OPM payroll

Former Labour Cabinet minister Manuel Mallia has been put on the government’s payroll as a person of trust at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Times of Malta is informed. According to information obtained after a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Dr Mallia, who lost his job as home affairs minister after his driver was involved in a shooting incident, enjoys a financial package worth €56,000 a year in his role as part-time legal adviser to the Prime Minister. It could not be established what perks are included in the contract or how many hours is he expected to put in every week because Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar has refused to hand over a copy of Dr Mallia’s contract to the Times of Malta. Dr Mallia’s package, equivalent to a minister’s salary, is over and above the €20,000 he receives as a Member of Parliament and his honorarium as chairman of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority. A former top criminal lawyer, Dr Mallia is by far the richest Labour MP according to his past declarations of assets. Apart from tens of thousands in declared earnings from his private legal office, Dr Mallia also receives about €150,000 a year from properties he...