The Nationalist Party today said that in his latest declarations, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna tried to hide the way he described the National Statistics Office - the PN said he described its statistics as fake - and at the same time sow doubt on the validity of this office's work.

This behaviour, the PN said, is of concern from two angles - it throws bad light on this independent institution that produces information on which important decisions are taken and, also, demoralises professional people who work there.

The PN appealed to the minister to stop attacking the office and its workers and, instead, look for solutions when problems arise. The minister is the first to boast when statistics published are positive for the government, the PN said.

In this context, the PN said it expects that whoever issues instructions for statistics to be tampered with, and whoever obeys such orders, should be personally held responsible. The PM should also intervene to ensure the independence of the office.