Military Police officers served as Kaczyński's private security, says deputy MOD chief

Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk told TVN24 on Monday that the new government's audit in the Ministry of National Defence "is not going to end any time soon".

"On June 30, we shall be finishing the case of Mr (Antoni) Macierewicz and the subcommittee (parliamentary subcommittee for reinvestigation of the Smolensk air disaster - edit.), but new thing are discovered every day," he said.

Tomczyk announced that information regarding a few Military Police officers would be presented at Wednesday's meeting of the parliamentary committee on national defence.

"The case we've come across during inspection is special, drastic and scandalous. It turned out that a group of (Jarosław) Kaczyński's security guards, who were de facto carrying out duties for him, a private security firm, were at same time employed under contract with the Military Police. In that time, they weren't carrying out the job for the Military Police," he said.

"They were employed with the Military Police in somewhat of a second job," Tomczyk clarified.

Tomczyk said he did not know in what capacity the officers had been hired by the Military Police, adding that "the crucial issue is that these jobs were de facto fictitious". "We're talking about a few guards who were employed with the Military Police, despite having served at the same time as Kaczyński's security and de facto watching over him around the clock," he explained.

"It's a scandal. Soldiers did not know about it, (but) the Military Police authorities did. This matter surfaced during inspection several days ago. We will send full information to the National Defence Committee," he added.

As Polish parliament explains at its official website, "the National Defence Committee deals with matters concerning the country's defence, particularly the functioning of the armed forces, the system of the country's territorial and civil defence and their functioning, performance of duties relating to strengthening the defence capacity - by state bodies, state-owned enterprises, co-operatives, social organisations and citizens, as well as issues of defence industry enterprises".

Former defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak, a PiS MP, commented on Tomczyk;s interview later on Tuesday.

"A certain deputy defence minister from PO (Civic Platform - edit.), who is desperately trying to build his career on being on my back, today spectacularly shot himself in the foot. Mentioning 'a group of Jarosław Kaczyński's security guards' who work with the Military Police, he had in mind two persons from GROM Group, who were hired back in... 2009. Which was when PO-PSL coalition was in power. They are retired soldiers - snipers, who worked with the Military Police as well-rated instructors," he wrote on X.

"Mr Deputy Minister, we can all see you are trying to cover up your indolence and a complete lack of initiative at the defence ministry with attacks on me, but these kinds of provocations are grotesque. You are embarrassing yourselves with each step you take," Błaszczak added.