Joe Brincat, Labour Party spokesman on the environment and his party’s representative on the board of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, dissociated himself from the opinions expressed by MEPA’s chairman that Carmel Cacopardo had written and taken part in a political activity which criticised MEPA.

The chairman’s position, he said, was most serious, anti constitutional, and went against human rights. Mr Cacopardo, the MEPA audit office’s investigating officer, had every right to his own political opinion and should not be victimised for it. What there was no doubt about was that Mr Cacopardo could not be faulted in honesty and integrity.

This was a matter of political discrimination, Dr Brincat said. After all, Mr Cacopardo was only an assistant in the auditor’s office and it was the auditor who took the decisions. And when the auditor decided, he could only recommend, not hand down watertight decisions.

Unsuccessful election candidates for the Nationalist Party were still nominated not to gather information for MEPA, but to decide cases on the Development Control Commission. No one questioned their integrity, Dr Brincat said.