The government is not in receipt of any letters from Steward Healthcare urging it to investigate a journalist, Prime Minister Robert Abela said in a letter sent to MediaToday director Savior Balzan on Wednesday. 

This comes after news that the healthcare operator, which runs three state hospitals, had said it asked the government to “investigate” Malta Today executive editor Matthew Vella after he reported on the company’s ownership structure.

We intend to continue taking the necessary initiative to create an environment where journalists can carry out their work with serenity- Prime Minister Robert Abela

Steward  claimed that Vella was colluding with a financial investigation firm that bets against stocks, in an attempt to drive down the share price of its parent company.

Vella, who has written extensively about the company, has categorically denied the accusation and accused SHCI of trying to bully him into submission. 

Earlier on Wednesday, in an open letter Balzan called on the prime minister to make a public declaration against the SLAPP threat from Steward. 

In the letter, which was circulated among media houses by the office of the prime minister, Abela said that the government is not in receipt of such correspondence and that should it be received eventually, it is not within its prerogative to investigate such allegations. 

Measures to support journalistic work

“The Government’s commitment is to protect journalists and efforts have been pursued to this effect in the past few months, including through concrete measures to support journalistic work and the media sector in general,” Abela wrote. 

“We intend to continue taking the necessary initiative to create an environment where journalists can carry out their work with serenity and receive all the protection expected from an EU member state that upholds the values mentioned in your letter.” 

Earlier on Wednesday Justice Minister Jonathan Attard had slammed the threat by Steward as “unacceptable” and similarly said that the government investigating an independent journalist was a “non-starter”. 

“It is unacceptable for a journalist to be threatened with being reported to the government for investigation,” Attard said, adding that it was “not the government’s job to investigate any journalist”.

The move by SHCI has drawn criticism from several quarters, including the Maltese Insitute for Journalists, The Nationalist Party, rule of law NGO Repubblika, The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.