ONE chief Jason Micallef is relinquishing his post at the top of the Labour Party’s media arm, a post which will now be taken over by Ruth Micallef, formerly group head of broadcasting.

Speaking for the last time as executive chairman during a party fundraising marathon, Jason Micallef, who has been managing ONE for the past 12 years, said that the post had given him some of the best experiences of his life but it was now time to move on.

Ruth Micallef promised to continue where her predecessor had left off.

Labour’s chief executive Randolph Debattista thanked Jason Micallef for his service, ideas and decision and said he had been one of the first people to believe in him.

In September, Prime Minister Robert Abela had ordered an internal review of the Labour Party’s ONE media arm, amid concerns over the company’s finances.

Sources had then told Times of Malta that this had not gone down well with Micallef, who was believed to have been aggrieved at what some interpreted as “a lack of trust” in his leadership.

ONE has significant dues which insiders say have been estimated to exceed €7 million, accrued over several years dating back to before Joseph Muscat was even opposition leader.

The party station has not filed audited accounts in more than 10 years. Its 2010 statement of accounts, the last set publicly available, show the company reported a loss of more than €500,000, with a debt of €2.7 million.