Mario Cutajar had no choice but to answer the NAO – it was not up to the prime minister to decide

The head of the civil service, who is also cabinet secretary – a former GWU boss who was appointed in March 2013 in the spirit of Taghna Lkoll – told The Malta Independent:

…the deal reached by the government on Cafe Premier was good, and that he had been given instructions by the Prime Minister to give full disclosure on the issue when asked by the National Auditor’s Office.

It’s not up to the prime minister to give him permission to disclose details to the National Auditor’s Office. He has no choice but to oblige when the NAO asks for those details, and the same goes for the prime minister.

They are both required to report to the NAO when required to do so.

Yet Mario Cutajar seeks to give the impression (he can’t possibly be under that impression himself) that the prime minister is somehow superior to the National Auditor’s Office.

He is not. The NAO is accountable to parliament.