The government's decision to pay €4.2 million to buy back the lease on Café Premier when it could have simply evicted the lessee through the courts 'stinks of corruption,' according to Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil.

During a short interview which aired on PN's Radio 101 this morning and which focused exclusively on the Café Premier 'bailout,' Dr Busuttil described the deal as a "prime scandal" since Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was directly and personally involved.

A report by the Auditor General, which was published last Tuesday, highlighted various shortcomings in the deal and found insufficient justification for the government's decision not to resort to court to terminate Cities Entertainment's lease, as it was legally entitled to do due to mounting ground rent arrears.

Dr Busuttil said that the €4.2 million payment - which, he emphasised, came through people's taxes - should never have been made, and that he expected someone to admit to wrongdoing and assume political responsibility over it.

He highlighted that the Auditor General's report proved Dr Muscat's direct involvement, including through emails that he sent.

The PN leader said that the agreement that was reached - paying defaulting tenants for the value of the property instead of evicting them and suing them for unpaid rent - could never make sense.

He added that the fact that the company was involved in discussions with Dr Muscat before the 2013 general election indicated that a pre-electoral agreement had been reached.

Dr Muscat has insisted that while he met Cities Entertainment director Mario Camilleri before the election, the issue had not been discussed, but Dr Busuttil said that he could not believe the Prime Minister, particularly since negotiations started shortly after the government was formed. He questioned why this was such a priority for a Labour Party that had been in opposition for many years.

The revelation that the government went ahead with the payment even though developer Anġlu Xuereb had made an identical financial offer to acquire the lease on Café Premier was also questioned by Dr Busuttil.

"To me, this only goes to show that there is something fishy going on, that someone pocketed some money. To me, there is a strong whiff of corruption," he maintained.

Asked to comment on Dr Muscat's assertion that his government would learn from its mistakes, Dr Busuttil argued that this was not enough, particularly since the public had to pay for these mistakes. He noted that the €4.2 million could have better been used elsewhere.

The PN leader added that he expected Dr Muscat to practice what he preached, pointing out that he had promised that his government would assume political responsibility for its actions.

"So assume your own political responsibility on this prime scandal," he concluded, addressing the Prime Minister.