Cyrus Engerer is NOT the Prime Minister’s Sherpa

Back in March, Cyrus Engerer gave us to understand that his role is that of the Prime Minister’s Sherpa in Brussels.

Despite having a criminal conviction, confirmed on appeal, with a two and a half years prison sentence (suspended), Engerer was put on the public payroll at ambassadorial grade with a salary package of €85,000 a year.

His role was described as being that of “Prime Minister’s special envoy for EU matters”.

But now I’ve discovered – how on earth did this news stay out of the media, except for this story which was overlooked completely – that Cyrus Engerer is not the Prime Minister’s Sherpa at all, and that the Sherpa is actually Jonathan Cardona.

The letter dated 15 November last, by which the Prime Minister appointed Cardona as his Sherpa, was laid on the table of the House on the 14th of last month. But as the Net News story linked above shows, Cardona was the Sherpa long before his official letter of appointment – since June 2013, in fact.

Jonathan Cardona, while he was the Prime Minister’s Sherpa, was also CEO for the sale-of-passports schemeand headed the task force on the arrangements for EU-Africa Summit held in Malta last November.

He is not the Prime Minister’s Sherpa after all, so exactly what is he doing for his 85,000 euros a year?

Jonathan Cardona, the real Sherpa