Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela yesterday denied that he was using his secretariat office for private deeds.

In reply to allegations made by Opposition Leader Alfred Sant last Sunday, Notary Abela said that the site plan exhibited by Dr Sant was used by the Lands Department to clarify matters regarding a lease of government property. This was done following a request by a number of citizens with regard to a political matter.

The person who had approached Notary Abela, as a political representative, on this issue confirmed that Dr Sant was never approached on the subject and had not been authorised to use the documents in public.

In a counter-statement, the MLP said Notary Abela did not reply to Dr Sant’s allegation in a serious manner while Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had remained silent on the matter.

It said that Notary Abela’s statement had confirmed all the facts as mentioned by Dr Sant, and confirmed that he was mixing private work with his political position.

The MLP said Notary Abela did not explain why his stamp as parliamentary secretary was used on a Lands Department document. The people were now waiting for Dr Gonzi’s reaction to all this, the MLP said.