Yana Mintoff’s son, Danny Mainwaring, put on government payroll

Yana Mintoff Bland’s son, Danny Mainwaring, 32, who hit the headlines of the non-government-affiliated news media two days ago when he was injured in a knife fight involving his mother, 65, and her Romanian lover, 39, was put on the government payroll recently as a policy officer at the Foreign Ministry.

He is one of several policy officers who have been recruited on a contract basis in preparation for Malta’s EU presidency, which begins in January.

Mr Mainwaring, who was schooled overseas and lived his entire life away from Malta, returning with his mother as his grandfather, former prime minister Dom Mintoff, lay dying in 2012, knows no Maltese. But perhaps a decision was taken to balance out other policy officers who know no English, or barely any.

Examinations for the foreign service, which include scrutiny for fluency in both languages, do not apply to officers engaged under contract.

When news of the knife-fight broke, questions arose as to what Mr Mainwaring is doing in Malta and living in his mother’s home, and these questions led to suspicions that he may have been put on the state payroll, which turned out to be the case.

Danny Mainwaring, Yana Mintoff’s son, who was recently put on the government payroll