GSD Opposition has accused the Gibraltar Government of continuing “to scrape the bottom of the barrel” in the excuses it is churning out trying to justify the “spiteful and demeaning treatment of Luis Montiel.”

In a statement issued yesterday regarding the dispute over the reinstatement of the former GSD Minister, the Opposition has stated that Chief Minister Fabian Picardo’s comments “suggest that the Government sees Mr Montiel’s treatment as a kind of tit for tat for what happened to Clive Golt.”

The GSD has further asked who heads the GSLP/Liberal Government, “Fabian Picardo or Joe Bossano?”

 An Opposition spokesman said: “The latest attempt to justify that treatment is by comparing the situation to Clive Golt. Mr Golt was neither a public servant or MP and his terms & conditions did not require that GBC reinstate him when he stepped down from the corporation to stand for election. Indeed, he left GBC before standing for election on redundancy terms for which he was paid. Further it was the GSD Government that employed him at the heart of Government at No 6 Convent Place.

“Mr Montiel was an employee of the GDC and his terms and conditions, along with the terms of every other public servant, required his reinstatement if he served as MP for two terms or less. Neither the GSD nor the present Government has any discretion in this. It is surprising that a Government that has recently paid such lip service to the rule of law, does not want to acknowledge that. What is worse is that the latest communique and the comments of the Chief Minister in particular, suggest that the Government sees Mr Montiel’s treatment as a kind of tit for tat for what happened to Mr Golt. This is precisely what Mr Picardo said his Government would not do prior to the election. Like on so many other issues he said one thing prior to the election and has done the opposite in Government in record time.

“As for the Civil Service issue, Mr Picardo well knows that both the GSD and his Government offered all GDC employees the opportunity to transfer to the Civil Service. All except Mr Montiel who has been singled out and victimised by the current Government. From the very beginning Mr Montiel has wanted to transfer to the Civil Service because it was clear Mr. Bossano would control the GDC and make his life difficult.

“He was obviously right because Mr Bossano is the chairman of the GDC and even after the Government offered to reinstate Mr Montiel due to the issue of legal proceedings, it was Mr Bossano who gave the instructions for Mr Montiel to work as a receptionist until further notice. What the Chief Minister should do is issue less press releases and rein in his erstwhile leader the Minister for Employment - that is if he controls his own Government.”