European Commissioner John Dalli yesterday welcomed the request by Joseph Ellul-Grech that an investigation be made into the case involving him and Mr Dalli.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Gonzi, reported on yesterday’s issue of this paper’s sister paper, The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Ellul-Grech referred to charges he faced in 2003 regarding the mailing of 20,000 copies of a letter defaming Mr Dalli.

Mr Ellul-Grech, who was charged by the police on indications given to them by Mr Dalli, was found not guilty by the Magistrates’ Court. The case was not appealed by the Attorney General.

Yesterday, TMIS said that Mr Ellul-Grech is now seeking an investigation to establish who was, in actual fact, behind the letters.

In comments to this paper yesterday, Mr Dalli said he too was very interested in finding out who was behind the letters, just as he recently said he wished the Prime Minister would hold an investigation into “the false allegations made against me” in the case regarding which private investigator Joe Zahra is currently serving a prison sentence.

Mr Ellul-Grech said in an open letter which appeared in yesterday’s TMIS that he and his family were forced to return to the UK because it became impossible for him to find employment in Malta due to the case.

The police had carried out a raid on Mr Ellul-Grech’s house and seized some objects at the time. They also examined Mr Ellul-Grech’s computer but reportedly found that it was damaged.