The government today accused PN MP George Pullicino of concocting a false story to mask his own shortcomings.

In a press conference earlier today, Mr Pullicino accused Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi of protecting an Enemalta official implicated in the smart meter tampering ring.

“The person mentioned by George Pullicino has never had any type of connection with Minister Mizzi,” the government said in a statement.

The government said that the person in question, Louis Attard, was employed with Enemalta in 2005 under the previous administration.

It was also a Nationalist government that gave him a promotion, and changed his contract from a definite one to a definite one on the eve of the election, the government said.

The government reminded that Mr Pullicino is the same person who personally delivered a letter to a company confirming inflated tariffs for the purchase of electricity.

In reply, the Nationalist Party said that the PM and Minister Konrad Mizzi have their backs to the wall and did not answer why this particular Enemalta employee was treated differently from the rest.