The government said today the Opposition Leader should stop undermining the Attorney General’s Office.

It was reacting to statements made by Simon Busuttil after it was reported that the AG, Dr Peter Grech, knew about kickbacks that had been made to the OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri from the sale of Maltese passports.

In a statement, the government said the AG’s office was protected by special laws that guaranteed autonomy and independence.

It said that Dr Grech has been serving the country impeccably for 33 years, and had been appointed to the post by the previous administration. It is unjust, the government said, that his integrity was attacked to score political points.

The Opposition was maliciously saying things about which the Attorney General is not free to talk about, the government said.