The government this evening rejected Leader of the Opposition Adrian Delia's call for a ministerial statement from Prime Minister Joseph Muscat following news reports that Minister Chris Cardona frequented the same bar as one of the accused charged in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and was seen with the suspect on one night there in November.
In the past hours, news reports by journalists taking part in the Daphne Project - a consortium of media outlets - were published which allege that the magistrate conducting the inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was informed about Economy Minister Chris Cardona's presence at a bar in Siggiewi which was allegedly frequented by one of the suspects currently on trial for the murder of the journalist.
The rejection came after Delia failed to quote a particular standing order to justify his call. Delia, who criticised the culture of silence in the country, said that it was essential that government answered questions that the people had a right to know.
The Prime Minister is currently in London taking part in a string of events connected with the Commonwealth.
"The whole world is looking at the country," Delia said.
Parliament repeatedly descended into chaos with parliamentarians yelling over one another as points of order were repeatedly called from both sides of the house of Parliament. The PN members of Parliament then walked out.
A consortium of 18 news organisations are pursuing the stories that had been followed by Caruana Galizia, and will be publishing the work. The news organisations include the New York Times, The Guardian, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, the newspaper behind the Panama Papers revelations. The project was organised an investigative non-profit organisation Forbidden Stories.
Journalists working on the project were reported to have approached two witnesses who told them that the minister was seen having a drink with one of the suspects at said bar, and that Cardona was a frequent weekend visitor.
The three persons accused with Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder have denied the charges brought against them.
Minister Cardona does not recall having any discussions with the three accused persons. He said that the pub welcomes patrons from all walks of life, including other politicians. He said that while he does not recall having discussions with any of the individuals, he "definitely" did not have any meetings with them. He said that anything else is baseless rumour and speculation.
One witness did not say which of the three suspects was seen with Cardona, reports read, however another (said to have been introduced to the project by a high ranking PN member) told the Daphne Project that he saw Alfred Degiorgio and Cardona on a day in November at the bar.