I regret to note that your correspondent left out the most important point of my speech on the above subject in the report Government did not inform MLP about Malta-US ship boarding agreement (TMID, 11 October). Primarily that a future Labour government would review the treaty accords, determine whether to retain them or not, and in the eventuality that it decides to retain them, it would subject their operational side to an intensive regular annual monitoring exercise.

Please also note that it is not true that I stated that the opposition found out about the agreement after the Maltese ambassador to the US presented his credentials to the US President.

Our complaint regarding the Maltese ambassador was solely limited to the fact that although following my probing, the Department of Information stated that the ambassador had also raised the visa waiver and double taxation agreement issue with the US President, this was in no way reflected in the DOI report of Mr Mark Miceli Farrugia’s written address to the US President, wherein he was quoted as having limited himself to merely speaking about weapons of mass destruction.

LEO BRINCAT MP

MLP spokesman for foreign affairs and IT