Foreign minister Evarist Bartolo’s former communications chief Daniel Attard has been appointed as deputy high commissioner to the UK.

Attard, a law graduate and PL Mtarfa mayor, joins former minister Manuel Mallia at the London posting. 

Speaking to Times of Malta, he confirmed that he will be resigning as mayor.

Asked about his experience for the post, Attard said he had served as a technical attaché to the international labour office in Geneva on a fixed-term contract following a public call for applications.

After that he joined the public service in Malta following another public call, going on to serve as a legal attaché in Brussels.

He has also worked in the European Affairs ministry, which was later amalgamated with the Foreign Affairs ministry.

Attard took up the high commission post in July and prior to that was Bartolo's communications coordinator. 

Attard said the role of deputy high commissioner has traditionally involved running the commission from an administrative and HR perspective.

He said he would also work towards strengthening Malta’s ties with the UK and other countries.

Commissioner Manuel Mallia 

Attard will be working alongside Mallia, who took up the role of high commissioner to the UK last month.

Mallia, who for years was one of the closest political aides to former PN deputy leader Guido de Marco, switched political allegiances before the 2013 election and was consequently elected to parliament on the Labour ticket.

He had been appointed as home affairs minister soon after the election but was asked to resign in 2014 in the wake of a shooting incident allegedly involving his driver, former police officer Paul Sheehan.

A government-appointed inquiry by three retired judges had established that there was an attempt to cover up the shooting incident which also led to the removal of Ray Zammit who at the time was acting police commissioner.

He had been replaced by the head of the Security Service, Michael Cassar, who eventually resigned too.

The inquiry had found that while Mallia was not directly involved in any cover-up, he failed when an official government statement falsely said warning shots had been fired in the air.

The car Sheehan had been chasing had been hit by bullets.

In the absence of the requested resignation and as Mallia insisted that there had been no cover up, former prime minister Joseph Muscat had appointed Minister Carmelo Abela as the new home affairs minister.

Barely two years later, Muscat re-appointed Mallia to the Cabinet as competitiveness minister.