In a statement issued by Investments Minister Austin Gatt’s ministry, the government repeated long extracts of what the MLP leader was quoted as saying during the various political meetings at which he spoke about the Brindisi Freeport controversy which, the ministry said, is now being blown out of proportion.

The ministry that the Labour media itself was indicating that it was Dr Sant who is lying. Maltastar.com, the MLP’s on-line newspaper, had, on 2 November, reported that “BOV has rebutted the allegations made by Minister Austin Gatt, that the information Labour leader Alfred Sant has about the Freeport’s purchase of shares of the loss-making BTI came from the bank”.

The ministry statement added that in the Super One 7.30pm news bulletin, it was reported that: “Asked about what Minister Gatt had said, Dr Sant stuck to what he had said on Sunday – that last August the government had spent E10 million more on the port, with the money having been loaned by Bank of Valletta.

The ministry said that it had a recording of the broadcast.

The statement said l-orizzont, a newspaper which, although not owned by the Malta Labour Party, sympathises with it, yesterday carried a report on the front page which said that: “This (took place) after last Sunday’s social activity in Mellieha, whereby Dr Sant said that the Freeport Terminal (Malta) bought shares in the Brindisi Terminal for the sum of Lm4 million when everybody knows that the port is bankrupt.”

The ministry statement said that the pro-MLP media has proved that Dr Sant is lying.

The ministry reiterated that no investment was made in August but the Lm4 million referred to by Dr Sant was used to substitute amounts owed to an Italian bank.

The government repeated what it had said six times this week, the statement said, that the Freeport Terminal was changing its financing of the Brindisi terminal from an Italian bank to a local bank to be able to buy machinery.

This would enable the Freeport to repay its loans over a longer period of time.

The Ministry statement said it is difficult to understand why the Opposition Leader continues to ask for explanations when he has been repeatedly told the truth.

There is a great difference between repaying a previous loan and a new investment, the ministry said. In spite of knowing this, Dr Sant is trying to cover up his initial mistake when he said that Lm4 million had been used to buy shares.

Dr Sant seems to think that he will be getting political mileage out of these claims, which is not the case, the ministry said. The statement continued by giving a detailed account of what had happened with regard to the Brindisi Freeport, which began in November 2000. It said this information has already been tabled in parliament but Dr Sant seems to be ignoring it.