Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said that police officer Paul Sheehan has been suspended following the incident in which shots were fired towards a car driven by a British man on Wednesday evening.
The police also issued a statement at 1.40pm saying that the officer has also been suspended from the corps.
In a press conference held at 11.30am, the minister confirmed that some shots were fired at the Britishman's car, which was hit twice.
Mr Sheehan was suspended from ministerial escort duties pending the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry that has been launched. He was one of two security drivers employed with Minister Mallia. Both are police officers and they share the weapon between them.
Minister Mallia was speaking at a press conference called this morning following a meeting with acting police chief Ray Zammit and the government’s chief communications officer Kurt Farrugia.
Dr Mallia said Mr Sheehan was a security driver and this allowed him to carry a firearm while on duty.
Asked by The Malta Independent whether he knew of a previous criminal conviction Mr Sheehan has for disobeying police orders, Dr Mallia said that he knows him as a quiet man and he had been awarded by the government for, while being off duty, catching a hunter who was hunting illegally. Asked again whether he knew about Mr Sheehan's past and whether he had undergone any security checks, Dr Mallia said that this was not in the ministry's remit but was under the responsibility of the police force.
No more details could be made available at the time because of the magisterial inquiry. He said it was an unfortunate incident and it is a pity that some people are trying to distort what happened.
Asked about the different versions of what took place and the information given in the DOI statement on Wednesday evening - the DOi spoke of warning shots - Mr Farrugia said that when the DOI issued a press statement, the information included was that which was available at the time.
It is standard practice for the Home Affairs Minister to have a police escort with him, he said.
Two shots were fired by the minister’s driver Peter Paul Sheehan, a police officer, in a car chase that ensued after an Englishman drove a car into the minister’s parked car in Gzira.
Video: Paul Jones, photos: Jonathan Borg