Jonathan Calvert, Sunday Times journalist: Our evidence is clear. Adrian Severin invoiced us for the EP amendment

Miercuri, 23 martie 2011, 18:41 English | Top News

British journalist Jonathan Calvert, the one who coordinated the team of journalists in their incognito investigation of the Sunday Times declared that he has an invoice sent by Adrian Severin for submitting an amendment to a European directive in the EP. Calvert said that Severin is the only Romanian MEP who offered his services in exchange of money and that Sunday Times will name another MEP who accepted to be paid in exchange of endorsing amendments in the EP, but that he is not Romanian.

Calvert coordinated the investigation released in the Sunday Times and explained how their investigation started. “We had information from various people indicating that there are close connections between lobbyists and MEPs” the journalist said. To test the integrity of MEPs and whether tips on payments from lobby companies were true, Sunday Times journalists invented a lobby company and an investment company in Russia.  

Through two false companies, journalists contacted 60 MEPs of which 14 were interested in the proposals of so called lobbyists and finally just three MEPs talked further about the matter: Romanian Adrian Severin, Slovenian Zoran Thaler and Austrian Ernst Strasser. British journalist Calvert answered accusations made by Romanian Severin who declared that journalists mystified the truth, that there is no evidence and that he did not request money to promote the amendment. Calvert said that their evidence is clear, Severin even sent an invoice for the EP amendment.