The ministry was referring to claims made by Labour MPs Gavin Gulia and Anglu Farrugia during a news conference on Thursday. Dr Farrugia and Dr Gulia spoke about the current controversy concerning the Forensic Laboratory, which was recently closed down by Occupational Health and Safety Authority personnel because of serious health risks faced by the employees who work there.

In its statement, the ministry did not mention whether it – or any other ministry or government officials – had taken the issue in hand in an attempt to eliminate all risks to the forensic scientists and for the Forensic Lab to operate as expected. Instead, the ministry’s statement focused on the fact that the MNL and the Forensic Laboratory had nothing to do with each other and were two separate entities.

The statement continued that there was also confusion about the Lm1 million which, according to Dr Gulia and Dr Farrugia, had been spent to keep the lab up to standard. The E2.2 million, the ministry said, was granted to the MNL and not to the Forensic Lab as the Labour spokesmen had said during the news conference. The money was used to purchase new equipment and the documentation of the purchases are there for the Labour spokesmen to see, the ministry said.

It said the confusion between the Forensic Lab and the MNL could have arisen after the latter offered it services in forensic research for government departments that needed these services.

The ministry added that the three employees of the Forensic Lab had “explicitly refused” an offer to be employed with the MNL.