The former head of Malta’s hate crime unit has been censured by parliament’s Standards Commissioner after he posted an insulting comment on Facebook.

Joseph Borg, who until June was employed as a person of trust by minister Michael Farrugia, insulted political activist and former Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola on Facebook back in April.

In the post, Borg had defended the minister from allegations concerning his meeting with business tycoon and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech. The post came after Times of Malta revealed that Farrugia had ordered a change to a high-rise policy on the same day he met with Fenech. The change in policy paved the way for Fenech’s family business, the Tumas Group, to build a skyscraper in the central locality.

Borg wrapped up his Facebook post by writing “Profs Cassola just get a life as the one you have at the moment sucks”.

The post uploaded by Borg which was reported to the Standards Commissioner. Photo: Facebook

The post was reported to the Standards Commissioner by Matthew Caruana Galizia, who heads the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.

On Tuesday, commissioner George Hyzler published his report into the matter and found that while Borg’s insult was “not especially serious as insults go” it remained an insult nonetheless, aggravated by the fact that Borg was at the time the equivalent of a director in the public service “and serving, ironically, as head of the Hate Crime and Speech Unit.”

He noted that regular government employees in senior roles were obliged to maintain political neutrality. This obligation also applied to persons of trust at equivalent levels. 

“It does not do credit to Maltese public administration in general and to Minister Michael Farrugia in particular, given that Dr Borg had been hand-picked as a senior member of the Minister’s personal staff and the insult was part of a post that was made in the Minister’s defence,” the commissioner wrote.

Hyzler wrote that he had summoned Borg and minister Farrugia into his office in late August and told Borg that he would have to apologise.

Borg, who until June formed part of minister Farrugia’s private secretariat and was hand-picked to lead the Hate Crime and Speech Unit when it was set up in October 2019, duly did so.

Hyzler said he considered the matter closed following Borg's apology. 

In correspondence with the Commissioner’s office, Borg noted that he was no longer a public servant, with his contract not being renewed when it lapsed on June 7.

“I don’t hold any position with the government. I’m just a normal citizen that wishes to be left alone and not harassed by you, your department nor the Commissioner,” he wrote.

In his report, Hyzler also highlighted concerns that proposed legal changes could lead to the government hiring an increasing number of persons of trust. For the legal changes to be effective, Hyzler wrote, the country's constitutional would have to be amended.