The GSD has said that the Leader of the Opposition should now be provided with an embargoed copy of the McGrail Inquiry Report “without further delay.”

A statement continued: “It is obvious that, so far, the Government has been hanging back so as to provide the Report to the Opposition Leader at the last possible moment even though it has already been provided to GBC and the Chronicle. This tells a stark story strongly suggestive of nervousness of the GSLP Government as to the Report’s findings. 

“The McGrail Inquiry Report was delivered by Sir Peter Openshaw to the Government on 6 November – over a month ago. On the same day the Government confirmed it would provide an embargoed copy to the Leader of the Opposition ahead of publication. 

“On Thursday 4 December the Government stated that it had planned to publish the Report at 3pm on Friday 5 December but was now delaying it because of the Chief Minister’s surgery to the week of 15 December. 

“By then the Government had provided the Report on an embargoed basis to 34 individuals, the Royal Gibraltar Police and the Police Authority. Additionally, the Government confirmed that it had also provided copies to the Chronicle and GBC on Wednesday 3 December “to assist them to prepare media coverage upon publication.” It had not, however, provided the Report to the Leader of the Opposition even though as far back as 6 November the Government said that it would and repeated that it would in a further press release of 13 November. 

“To date Mr Azopardi has not yet received the promised embargoed copy.”

Mr Azopardi said: “The fact that the Government confirmed on Thursday that had it not been for Mr Picardo’s surgery they were intending to publish the Report the following day makes it obvious that they were holding back on providing me with the Report even though they had already provided it to the press. This must have been designed to give me minimum time to consider the Report ahead of publication. People will wonder why that is given that the Report was called upon to examine Mr Picardo’s own actions and that the Government have precisely postponed the publication because it says it would be “...inappropriate and unfair that the Report should be published at a time that the Chief Minister is unable to address the Report and participate in the foreseeable public debate about its content.” This suggests a deep nervousness as to providing me with time to consider the Report ahead of publication and a desire to minimise that for political reasons. People will inevitably draw their own conclusions as to why that would be. The promised copy should now be provided immediately or the GSLP Government will simply be compounding how this looks to the public.”