It is not true that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat wants to publish the Egrant report, Opposition Leader Adrian Delia charged this morning.
One year and a half after the conclusions of the investigation made by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja was made available, the PM is still holding back from publishing the full report, putting the Opposition at a political disadvantage, Delia said on the party radio station.
The latest chapter of the saga came earlier this week when ministers Chris Cardona, Edward Scicluna and Konrad Mizzi filed a legal request to revoke a decree given by the Constitutional Court a few months ago, ordering to testify in a case instituted by Delia.
Delia is contesting, in a court case, that it is not right that the ministers had access to the Egrant report – given the way they quoted from parts which are not publicly available – while the Opposition does not. The three ministers were notified on 26 August that they were scheduled to testify in court on 14 October, but left it till a few days before to contest the summons in a bid to prolong the case.
Delia said that the Opposition will continue to battle the issue in court until all the truth becomes public.
The Egrant inquiry dealt with allegations that the Egrant company opened in Panama belonged to the Muscat family. The conclusions reached by the inquiry showed that this is not the case, but the full report is still under wraps.
Delia spoke of the PN’s initiative this week to move a motion in Parliament to declare a climate emergency. He said the Mediterranean is the region that is being affected the most after Antarctica, and we could arrive at a point when the damage done to the environment could not be reversed.
He said that the appointment of the Labour Party’s former CEO James Piscopo to run Arms Limited was yet another indication that the government looked after its own while ignoring the plight of the rest of the population.
He said the more time passes since the assassination of journalist Daphe Caruana Galizia, the more the truth is being killed. The mastemind behind the plot is still unknown, he said, insisting that the right to freedom of expression must continue to be safeguarded.