Speaker Anglu Farrugia rejected an Opposition motion for an urgent debate on former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar on Tuesday, saying that there is no guarantee that the discussion could not be controlled in such a manner for it to not prejudice the investigation or Cutajar's rights.

Farrugia said that the request, made under Standing Order 13, had to satisfy three pre-requisites; that the issue is defined, that it is of public importance, and that it is urgent.

In his ruling, he said that while there was an agreement with the first two points, the House must be satisfied with the urgency of the matter as well.

He said that when consider the urgency of such matters, it must be taken into consideration on whether the discussion needs to be done in such a hurry that it cannot be done on any other day.He quoted a similar ruling from former Speaker Louis Galea, and said that a discussion now may prejudice investigations which are at a critical stage and may also prejudice the rights of the individual who is under investigation.