The police have not answered a series of questions put to it by this newspaper on Friday and yesterday concerning PC Paul Sheehan, the officer who had been assigned as a driver for Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia and who opened fire on a private citizen on Wednesday night following an alleged traffic altercation.

This newspaper had made it perfectly clear that the questions were urgent, considering the nature of the case in question. While it is understandable that certain questions may not be answered if investigations are underway, others posed by this newspaper were of a basic nature. 

These queries included whether the officer had been formally questioned at the time of the incident on Wednesday, whether the officer fell under the jurisdiction of the police force at the time of the incident, whether the officer - who is being publically accused of a number of serious crimes - could potentially be subject to criminal and/or internal disciplinary proceedings, and whether the force was awaiting the findings of an ongoing magisterial inquiry before deciding on the most appropriate course of action, among others.

But despite the fact that one of the most outstanding questions in the whole affair is why the officer has not been charged with any offence as yet, and the serious implications this lack of action would have on the police force, our queries remained unanswered as of last night.

Board of inquiry to be set up

A board of inquiry, composed of three former members of the judiciary, is to be appointed to determine whether there had been any ministerial interference in the aftermath of the Gzira shooting on Wednesday night involving Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia's driver.

The shooting happened after a British national, Steve Morrison Smith, clipped the side mirror of Dr Mallia's ministerial car while his driver, Police Constable Paul Sheehan, was visiting his mother in Gzira.

Both Dr Mallia and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat have come under pressure over the alleged cover-up. On the night of the incident, the government said that Dr Mallia's driver, PC Paul Sheehan, had merely fired warning shots in the air.

The following day, Dr Mallia admitted that several of the shots fired by his driver hit the car driven by Mr Morrison Smith. Mr Sheehan was then suspended from both his driving duties and the police corp.

The board of inquiry is being appointed in the light of the repeated allegations made by the Leader of the Opposition regarding the shooting, the government said.

The board will be tasked with determining whether Minister Mallia or any other official interfered in the case, and it will be given 15 days in which to conduct its inquiry.

The government said that Minister Mallia is willing to submit to the board's scrutiny in order to show that he acted correctly over the matter. 

In reply, Dr Busuttil said that Dr Muscat has his back to the wall and is still proving to be weak when faced with abuse of power.

"Instead of doing what is expected and sacking Minister Manuel Mallia immediately, the Prime Minister is trying to brush off responsibility," Dr Busuttil said in a statement.

Referring to the board of inquiry, he said that no judge can decide who should carry the political responsibility for the shooting.

Prime Minister says Dr Busuttil can appoint ex-judge to lead inquiry

In an added twist, Dr Muscat offered Dr Busuttil the opportunity to appoint an ex-judge to lead the inquiry.

"Decided to ask the Opposition leader to appoint an ex-judge of his choice to lead a board of inquiry in this week's deplorable incident," Dr Muscat said in a tweet.

In reply, Dr Busuttil tweeted that the Prime Minister should stop "shooting from the hip and stand up to be counted. "It's your mess, now deal with it. Be a Prime Minister for once."

It was a long day of accusations and counter-accusations over the incident. In an earlier press conference, Dr Busuttil said that the Prime Minister's credibility is in free fall over the potentially fatal shooting.

Dr Busuttil said the Opposition is not scared of the government and is demanding that Dr Muscat takes decisive action.

He said it is unacceptable that such a serious matter is brushed under the carpet, and Dr Muscat should not hide behind the magisterial inquiry as an excuse not to take action against Dr Mallia for playing down the gravity of the shooting.

Dr Busuttil questioned how the driver Paul Sheehan is still "on the loose" 60 hours after the incident. Instead, he said, the police are focusing their energies on the British "victim".

Dr Busuttil said the fact that Minister Mallia initially said that warning shots were fired in the air, as well as the prompt removal of the Britain's car on the instructions of the Police Commissioner without informing the duty magistrate clearly points to a cover-up.

He called on the Police Commissioner to make his position clear in the case.

He said the excessive use of force by Mr Sheehan is symptomatic of the anything goes culture introduced by the government.

Police Commissioner denies order to remove car

In a statement issued by the Police, the Police Commissioner denied giving any order to move the British man's car.

Acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit said the only order given was for Superintendent Alexandra Mamo to go on site and order a magisterial inquiry.

It is true, he said, that he ordered a low loader to be sent on site so that the two cars involved in the incident could be moved once the onsite inquiry was done.

Although the car belonging to the British man had been loaded on to the low loader, the Commissioner said, it remained there and the onsite inquiry was duly carried out.

In reply, the Nationalist Party said the Acting Commissioner has confirmed that evidence had been tampered with.

The PN said the car belonging to the Briton was moved from its original position and placed on the low loader.

The party said that Commissioner Ray Zammit failed to reply when asked why Dr Mallia's driver has not been arraigned in court.

Guns in the House

In light of the shooting, Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia informed all Members of Parliament yesterday morning that as from Monday, a number of security measures will be taken to ensure that no one enters the Parliament building carrying a weapon.

All those entering Parliament for a sitting will be frisked at the main entrance to The Palace and the contents of their bags examined.

Parliament employees, security officials accompanying MPs and ministers, as well as media persons will all have to undergo these additional security checks.

All MPs were advised of this new directive in an email.