THE FUSE

The former president of Spain's Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, has come under renewed scrutiny over a period of several hours he spent with a journalist when flash floods struck his region with tragic consequences a year ago.

It was already known they spent several hours at lunch. Latest allegations suggest their encounter may have lasted longer.

A total of 229 people were killed by the floods in the eastern province of Valencia on 29 October 2024. Another eight people lost their lives in neighbouring regions.

Mazón, of the conservative People's Party, has already said this month he is stepping down as regional leader due to a perception that he and his administration mishandled the crisis.

Much of the anger was because his government waited until after 20:00 on the day that the floods struck to issue an emergency text alert to the phones of people in Valencia, warning them to stay at home.

By that time, it is believed that most of the victims had already died.

Mazón did not supervise emergency meetings for much of the day because he was having a lengthy lunch with a local journalist, Maribel Vilaplana, it has emerged.

The meal, according to evidence given to local judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, who is investigating possible negligence by the authorities, lasted nearly four hours.

New reports contradict their accounts of what happened next.

Ms Vilaplana testified before the judge on 3 November that she and the politician left the restaurant at around 18:45 and walked the short distance to the car park where she had left her car, before separating.

Mazón has given a similar version of events. She said she spent some time in her car answering messages on her phone and taking notes on her computer.

Ms Vilaplana's bank card details reviewed by the magistrate have since shown she drove out of the underground car park at 19:47.

However, local news outlet Levante, citing PP sources, has reported that the journalist drove Mazón to the regional government headquarters, where she left him at around 20:00.

According to this unconfirmed version of events, they were together from the start of the meal until then.

Until now, the timeline of Mazón's movements had not accounted for 37 minutes leading up to Ms Vilaplana's departure from the car park, when his phone records show that he did not answer several calls.

The car park details did not clarify where he was between leaving the restaurant and his arrival at the headquarters of the local emergency agency, at 20:28 according to security camera footage.

Some media reports have cited police sources familiar with his security detail saying that after leaving the restaurant he went to his home nearby, had a shower and possibly a nap before going to the government headquarters and then the emergency agency.

Responding to latest reports, Mazón insisted that he did not stop off anywhere on the way to the government building and he denied that Ms Vilaplana had driven him there, insisting that he walked.

"Information keeps coming out that has nothing to with the handling of the emergency, or the taking of decisions, of operational decisions, or the management of [the floods], it has nothing to do with that," he told reporters.

Mazón has repeatedly blamed the central government and state agencies for not providing him enough information about the floods.

During questioning by the judge on Wednesday, Mazón's chief of staff, José Manuel Cuenca, said that he was aware of "the seriousness of the situation" in some areas by 15:00, when the politician was starting his lunch.

The former head of the interior department in Mazón's government, Salomé Pradas, has been named as a possible suspect in the investigation. She denies any wrongdoing and says that she did all she could with the information she had at the time.

Mazón cannot be charged because he has parliamentary immunity.

José Muñoz, of the Socialist Party in Valencia, called on the conservatives to strip Mazón of his regional parliamentary seat, alleging he is trapped in a "labyrinth of lies".