[WATCH] Labour CEO: 'I feel ashamed' of voting against Jean Paul Sofia public inquiry

Labour MP and CEO Randolph De Battista said he feels ashamed of voting against a public inquiry into the 2022 construction collapse that killed Jean Paul Sofia.

Last year, Labour MPs in Parliament voted against an Opposition motion calling for a public inquiry into Sofia’s death.

Asked outside parliament whether he regrets having voted with the Labour parliamentary group, De Battista said he feels “ashamed”.

“My apology makes no difference to the life of Isabelle. No one can understand what she went through, what she’s passing through and what she’ll continue to pass through. But if you were to ask me how I feel? I feel ashamed.”

The Labour parliamentary group received fierce backlash for opposing a public inquiry into Sofia’s death. The backlash was not confined to middle-of-the-road voters, but also from party grassroots supporters.

Prime Minister Robert Abela was particularly resistant to calls for a public inquiry, insisting that only a magisterial inquiry will bring about justice for the family of Jean Paul Sofia.

But days after voting against the public inquiry, and on the day of a widely-supported vigil by the family of Jean Paul Sofia, Abela caved in and launched the public inquiry.

The inquiry findings were published on Wednesday, listing a series of failures by State entities, including those responsible for granting the public land on which the factory was being built and those that were supposed to monitor the quality of works on site.

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