Mobile operators have been ordered by the court to conserve all TAP files related to Economy Minister Chris Cardona for the days between 30 and 31 January, the time when blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia said the minister went to a brothel in Germany.

TAP3 files include timestamps of calls made and SMSs sent, location area codes of where phone calls, SMS were made or data was used, the cell tower ID of the network of the foreign operator service is transferred to when travelling abroad, and other such information.

The ruling, given this morning by Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, also stated that the operators must deposit in court the said data within a week in a sealed envelope, which will only be opened by the court.

The data to be included is for between 5pm-12.30 on 30/31 January and 2pm-7pm on 31 January, the court ruled.

The operators are to remove any personal data related to third parties, including the phone numbers of people contacted by the minister and others who contacted him during the said hours.

The ruling also says that within a week mobile operators Go, Vodafone and Melita are to declare whether they are the service providers to the minister.

Daphne Caruana Galizia had alleged that the minister visited a brothel while on an official trip to Germany last January, an allegation which the minister has denied, filing a series of libel suits.

Minister Chris Cardona says he remained in Essen Germany during his trip, where he was attending the Stakeholder Forum organised by the European Commission. The minister insists that he never went to FKK Acapulco in Velbert, a distance of 20 km away from Essen.