Prime Minister’s consultant accompanies crash millionaire to prosecution hearing as adviser

On Monday I reported that British millionaire Paul Bailey, who crashed into a crowd of onlookers when driving a super-car at a fundraising event for the Maltese head of state’s charity, injuring 28, has retained Prime Minister Muscat’s consultant, Lou Bondi, as his personal adviser during the inquiry period and now, his prosecution.

A closer look at the photographs and video footage of Paul Bailey emerging from the Courts of Justice last Monday with his wife and criminal defence lawyers shows that he was also accompanied by the Prime Minister’s consultant (see below).

In 2013 Joseph Muscat retained Bondi under contract at €54,000 a year to advise him on “national celebrations”. It was the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, who rang Bondi with the offer, just a few days after the general election.

A call to Lou Bondi last Monday to ask whether he sees no conflict of interest between his role as consultant to the Prime Minister and his being retained for unspecified services by a man under prosecution for injuring 28 people went unanswered and unreturned.

Sources have told this website that Bondi’s official job is to ensure that Paul Bailey’s image is portrayed well in the Maltese media.