Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia has been chastised for attempting to "cover up" the gravity of a shooting following a hit-and-run incident involving his ministerial car and driver, who has since been suspended.
On Wednesday evening, the government issued a press release saying that driver and police officer Paul Sheehan fired a number of "warning shots" in the air after a man, Steve Morrison Smith, allegedly came at him with a beer bottle.
The government back-tracked the following day, with Minister Mallia admitting that two of the shots fired actually hit Mr Morrison Smith's car. Mr Morrison Smith is director and shareholder of Waterbus International Ltd and director of Ultimate Technology Ltd.
His wife Vanessa yesterday confirmed that he was still under arrest. Mrs Morrison Smith, who sounded very upset, declined to comment further.
A spokesperson for the British High Commission said yesterday: "We can confirm the arrest of a British national on 19 November in Malta. We have offered consular assistance."
The police, on the other hand, would not confirm or deny that Mr Morrison Smith was under arrest. A spokesman said: "Kindly note that we cannot confirm nor deny this. Doing so would be in breach of Article 112(2) of the Police Act."
Sheehan one of two security drivers employed with the Minister
Mr Sheehan was one of two security drivers employed with Minister Mallia. Both are police officers and they share the weapon between them.
Speaking during a press conference, 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 who has been given an award for catching an illegal hunter while he was off duty.
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. The Minister 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, government communications head Kurt Farrugia said that when the DOI issued the press statement, the information included was that which was available at the time.
Prime Minister Muscat stands by Minister Mallia
Nearly 24 hours after the incident, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat broke his silence to say that he was "angry and disgusted" with the incident.
The minister himself expressed the same sentiment in a meeting held at Castille yesterday afternoon, a Department of Information statement said.
The Opposition has called on the PM to remove Dr Mallia from minister, but there was no hint of this in the statement issued yesterday evening.
"The situation as it escalated is not acceptable. There is no place for people who use their position in a way that could be interpreted as being abusive and excessive."
The PM and Dr Mallia agreed that strong action was necessary against the person involved, including his removal from assignments to the ministry and his suspension from the corps. In this case, the minister's trust in this person - police officer Paul Sheehan - was broken.
The Prime Minister said he is waiting for the outcome of the magisterial inquiry into the incident, which he hoped will not take long.
Muscat is 'weak' - PN
In reply, the Nationalist Party said that if the PM is really angry and disgusted, he should have the courage to take all the necessary steps. The only way out is the removal of Minister Mallia from his post after he was caught lying to cover up the incident that had taken place.