Prime Minister Robert Abela said this morning that he is not in contact with former chief of staff Keith Schmebri.

“Absolutely not”, he replied when asked by journalists as he walked into his office in Castille. “I do not communicate with Keith Schembri.”

Abela is in his second full day as PM, and is still working to form his Cabinet of ministers and parliamentary secretaries. He said that he remained holding meetings until midnight last night but would not be drawn into making comments about his choices.

He said that once the Cabinet is formed then he would be in a better position to say what he will do with the remaining MPs, the so-called backbenchers.

Asked about his position regarding four MPs who are facing an investigation – three on the Vitals agreement reached for the transfer of three public hospitals and another, Joseph Muscat, who is being investigated on his trip to Dubai and on gifts received at the time he was Prime Minister – Abela said so far what is being said are “only allegations”.

“I can go and report each and every one of you” but this does not mean that something wrong has been committed. If a report had to be filed against the 37 Labour MPs and they were to leave simply because a report was filed then “we’ll end up” without representatives in Parliament, he said.

With regard to the Vitals deal, a magisterial inquiry is underway on a fact-finding mission. It is not a criminal investigation, Abela said. A criminal investigation is conducted solely by the police. If, prima facie, the magisterial inquiry establishes that there are grounds for an investigation then the situation will change, Abela said.

He insisted that he will be fighting against corruption with his action, he said.