Updated 2.40 pm with PN statement 

The Cabinet and the Labour Party in separate statements on Tuesday reiterated their confidence in former Health Minister Chris Fearne after Times of Malta and the Boston Globe revealed a conspiracy to smear him.

Leaked corporate records obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) showed that former hospital concessionaires Steward Health Care funded the campaign to smear Fearne with fake corruption claims.

The Cabinet said Prime Minister Robert Abela had always been clear in his confidence in Fearne and had asked him not to leave his ministerial posts.

Fearne resigned as deputy prime minister and minister on May 10, days after prosecutors filed fraud charges against him related to the government's deal with Vitals to privatise three state hospitals. That deal was later taken over by Steward.

The Cabinet also noted that the local police had already confirmed that previous reports about Fearne in the international media were fake.  

In light of these developments, the Cabinet said it backed the prime minister's decision to have the reports about a conspiracy against Fearne investigated. No one should be attacked in this way, more so when he was acting on behalf of the people and in the country's best interests. Such conspiracies could not be tolerated.

The cabinet confirmed remarks by Abela on Monday that the State Advocate had been asked to take whatever action was necessary before the international arbitration tribunal hearing the Steward case (on the annulment of the privatisation deal) to ensure the recovery of any public funds which were wrongfully used by Steward to fabricate fake news stories. 

The Cabinet, like the Labour Party, also took a dig at the Nationalist Party. It said that the Opposition leader had instituted a court case against the State Advocate, which sought, among other things, action against Fearne in his personal capacity. 

The Opposition had always sought to "destroy" Fearne, particularly when it became known that he was the government's choice to serve as EU commissioner. The Opposition had always focused on immediate partial political gain rather than the national interest, the Cabinet said. 

In a statement on Tuesday, the PN said that if Robert Abela really believed in what he has said on the matter so far, then he should immediately drop his objection to the party’s efforts to have the State Advocate launch legal action against Steward to recover some €400 million in taxpayer funds, which the party says where “stolen” and parts of which were used to fabricate stories about Fearne.