Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia has rejected two parliamentary questions regarding the publication of the full Egrant Inquiry, holding that such questions were not relevant within parliament.
PN MP Karol Aquilina, who submitted the questions, revealed that he had asked Prime Minister Joseph Muscat whether he would publish the Egrant Inquiry, and who has had access to the full unredacted unpublished version.
Aquilina not only said that the inquiry's publication was a matter of public interest but also referenced the revelations that Attorney General Peter Grech had given to the report to Justice Minister Owen Bonnici upon request.
Speaking to The Malta Independent earlier, Bonnici said that "as Justice Minister, I have a duty to assist the Prime Minister on questions of national importance, as this inquiry was."
Explaining his decision, Farrugia referenced established procedure in the House of Commons, as he did when blocking PN MP Simon Busuttil's questions concerning Government Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, saying that PQs directed at Ministers should specifically relate to their responsibilities.
"I won't speak about the lies against my wife and myself," Prime Minister Joseph Muscat then said as he began to present documents to parliament.
The Leader of the Opposition Adrian Delia would later ask if there would be a Prime Ministerial statement on the matter.
This brought the ire of Muscat, who told Delia that given that he instituted a legal case on the matter, the issue would be solved there, stressing that parliament should focus on parliamentary business.
"With the lies repeated countless times by one of your MPs, I was expecting for him to have the decency to get up and apologise to me....I was mistaken," Muscat said in a reference to former PN Leader Simon Busuttil.