May 18 - Government: “GSD Hide Their Own Late Declaration Of Interests From The Public”
The Government has said that Opposition Member Elliott Philips filed his Declaration of interests as a Member of Parliament “barely two weeks before Minister Isola, yet the GSD kept this secret.”
Number Six says that this information “will come as a surprise” to the general public following the recent controversy on this subject “which was generated by the Opposition themselves”. The Government adds that this also reveals “an unprecedented level of political hypocrisy and of downright incompetence that the Opposition should have chosen to pontificate about this only to then be found guilty of late filing themselves!”
A statement continued: “The sad reality is that it also says much about the kind of Opposition that we have today that they chose to attack a Government Minister on this issue and they chose to ignore that one of their number had also failed to file on time.
“It will be recalled that the unfair attacks which the GSD have been making upon Minister Albert Isola have all been based on the fact that Mr Isola filed his Declaration of Interest form late.
“However, the Opposition also chose to ignore that Mr Isola’s Declaration is almost identical to that which he had already filed after his election in the by-election of 2013 where his interest in the Fiduciary Group, which owns Artnell Associates Ltd was first disclosed and declared.
“Given the fuss that the Opposition have made over Mr Isola, it beggars belief that one of their own Members, Elliott Philips, should have filed his Declaration on 29th April 2016.
“The Government accepts that in some instances Declarations are filed late not because anyone has anything to hide but because Members of Parliament are busy with other duties and in the case of Ministers their Government work and in the case of some other Members their work outside Parliament. The GSD, however, did not accept that when it came to Albert Isola.
“In the circumstances which the Opposition have created, the news that one of their own MPs failed to file his own Declaration on time will be astonishing to many people. This will reveal the double-standards of the GSD which has been a hallmark of the way in which they have operated for many years.”
The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: "The GSD condemned Albert for failing to file his Declaration on time. Now it seems that Elliott Phillips failed to file his Declaration on time and filed it just days before Albert. So given that the GSD said that Albert was "woefully late" and that his behaviour was shocking, is Danny Feetham now going to publicly condemn Elliott for the identical sin? If he doesn't, the GSD will be seen to be entirely hypocritical and lacking in credibility and judgment. Making these allegations against Albert Isola whilst one of their own had also failed to file his form on time shows a complete and utter lack of political integrity on the part of the leadership of the GSD. It illustrates an unfathomable level of hypocrisy and shows how they try to treat the public as if they were unable to see through their double standards. It is time the GSD accepts that Albert’s late filing is nothing more than an oversight, the same of which could be said for Elliot Phillips. Their behaviour is shameful and it is high time they started putting Gibraltar first."
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