More progress needed on Daphne inquiry recommendations, says UK minister

More progress should be made by Malta’s government on implementing recommendations from the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Britain’s Commonwealth minister has said.

UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Chris Elmore, whose portfolio includes human rights, multilateralism and the Commonwealth, said it would be “very positive if more progress could be made”. 

Last year, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation said that only two of the 26 recommendations listed by the foundation had been fully implemented four years after the inquiry conclusions were sent to the prime minister. 

Elmore would not be drawn into commenting on the speed of the government’s progress, saying it was “up to the Maltese government to decide the pace of change”. 

“But just simply, from our perspective, it’s an extremely important part of our central pillar around supporting human rights, international rule of law [and] ensuring that journalists can do their jobs without fear or favour,” said Elmore. 

“Therefore, those recommendations need to be implemented... to ensure there is a meaningful response to that horrendous death.”

The UK minister was speaking to Times of Malta during a visit to the country, when he met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ian Borg, industry leaders, academics and visited a Commonwealth war cemetery. 

Elmore’s visit comes on the heels of years of economic stagnation and political turmoil in the UK, with the country’s relationship with Europe – and its implications for national sovereignty – remaining a divisive issue years after Brexit. 

Lessons from Malta

Meanwhile, by contrast, Malta’s economy continues to power ahead, and the EU country has successfully managed to pursue its own energy procurement and migration policies.

So, what can the UK learn from Malta? 

“What we can learn from Malta is the fact that just because you are a small nation doesn’t mean you can’t punch above your weight”, said Elmore, adding that Malta was not considered a small island developing state (SIDS), and was instead working to support such states. 

“The lessons are the leadership they [the Maltese] show in academia, multilateralism and where they look at solutions for climate challenges. It’s something quite interesting that I wasn’t expecting to see.”

‘Malta punches above its weight’

While the UK has a greater number of scientists tackling climate change, “in the leadership position, Malta punches above its weight and then some”, he said. 

“There’s an important lesson here for us around how we engage with countries that show leadership, no matter their size”.

Some might argue that those in Malta could be more incentivised to tackle climate change, with heat deaths in the country liable to triple should efforts to tackle global warming prove unsuccessful. 

But as small islands often bear the brunt of climate change, wealthier nations with higher carbon emissions have repeatedly under-delivered on key climate commitments. Although UK emissions have fallen sharply since 1990, its progress on climate was rated ‘insufficient’ at the time of publication, according to the Climate Action Tracker.

Responding to fears in Malta about the climate crisis, Elmore stressed there had been a “real push” in the UK to improve its climate obligations, pointing to increased green technology investment, less reliance on oil and boosting renewables. 

“The current government has really been at the forefront of that multilateral discussion about meeting those targets. You’re right to challenge me on that but... I would say to people in Malta that we’re trying to take those responsibilities extremely seriously.”

Elmore added that the UK government provided “significant” funds to SIDS, pointing to hospitals in Commonwealth country Jamaica that successfully weathered Hurricane Melissa last year due to UK climate resilience funding, as an example. 

‘Reliable Commonwealth partner’

On the Commonwealth, Elmore described Malta as a “reliable partner for the UK” and holding an “extremely important” place within the organisation. 

“In terms of the physical political connection to the Commonwealth, it’s extremely significant. But there is also an emotional attachment, which is also significant,” he said, noting that next year would see Malta host the 2027 Commonwealth Youth Games. 

While Britain’s place in the Commonwealth has not attracted significant controversy at home, its place within Europe remains a thorny issue following the 2016 Brexit referendum and exit from the bloc four years later. 

And in recent years, anti-Brexit sentiment has mounted, with a survey from established polling organisation YouGov last year finding that 56% of Britons think leaving the EU was a mistake. 

Asked about the chances of the UK rejoining the bloc, Elmore said it would be “very difficult” to envisage such an eventuality, while stressing that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had worked to “reset” Britain’s relationship with the Union since coming into office. 

“Rejoining the customs union seems unlikely... [but] we have to be able to build these relationships across the European Union,” he said, adding the UK was working to improve trade relations and cooperation on science, defence and cybersecurity.

‘How can we make things better’

Despite the apparent unpopularity of Brexit, one of its chief architects, firebrand politician Nigel Farage, has continued to forge ahead in politics, now heading populist right-wing party Reform UK which is increasingly seen as poised to challenge the governing Labour party. 

Seeming to reject Reform’s perceived threat as premature, Elmore noted that the next general election was three and a half years away and that government policies to address the “very difficult” situation it had inherited still needed more time to be felt across the country. 

“We are now seeing some of those changes that we’ve made in the last 18 months coming through,” he said, emphasising the government was focused on resolving cost-of-living issues, rather than responding to Reform’s “white noise”. 

Elmore was less than flattering of Farage, describing the populist leader as “spending all his time travelling [abroad], attacking the UK, and that’s the wrong approach; the right approach is to say, how can we make things better”.