Helena Dalli, the Labour Party’s spokeswoman for public function and women’s rights, said Minister Austin Gatt should not remain silent over the accusations being made by the Public Broad-casting Services’ editorial board that its board of directors was abusing its powers.

It was shameful that the board of directors was ignoring the editorial board completely, and choosing the programmes for the October schedule itself.

For the minister not to insist that the board observe its brief – to take a final decision jointly with the editorial board about which programmes to accept – showed weakness and a lack of seriousness, she said.

The whole business was affecting serious producers who wanted to know what would happen to the programme proposals they had presented, said Ms Dalli.