Glenn Bedingfield has no intention of closing his blog, the newly elected Labour MP has told The Malta Independent. His blog has been running for around a year and a half now.

Bedingfield was elected to Parliament in last Tuesday’s casual election.

He is one of 11 new faces in the PL Parliamentary Group. He contested the second and fifth districts but was elected on the second district, which was vacated by Helena Dalli. He obtained 2,217 votes. Asked by this newsroom if he has the intention to close his blog, the OPM blogger said: “I will focus on Parliamentary work however, as an MP I have the right to express myself online as many others do. While I will have less time to dedicate to my blog it is my intention to keep it running.”

Bedingfield was accused of breaching ethics by writing political posts while serving as the PM’s advisor. He was appointed as Parliamentary Questions (PQs) Coordinator in the Office of the Prime Minister, and some of his blog posts are uploaded during office hours.

In response to this criticism, the MP said that his blog was entirely personal and that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat does not interfere in what he writes.

The OPM adviser has been active in the PL for more than 20 years, occupying various roles within the party.

In 2008 he had also served as a Member of the European Parliament for a year after Muscat had vacated his post to become Leader of the Opposition.