An adjournment speech by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi last week was a "clear and rampant" prima facie breach of privilege, Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled on Tuesday.
On Wednesday 24 June, Azzopardi claimed that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had called an early election in 2017 because he knew about the plan to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia. Muscat reacted angrily, and, during the evening's sitting asked Speaker Anglu Farrugia to declare that Azzopardi was in breach of privilege.
Azzopardi had first claimed that Muscat had called an early election because he had come to know about a plan to kill the journalist. A few minutes later, he said that, "the best-case scenario is that Muscat called early election because he knew Daphne was going to publish the Montenegro story, because the Montenegro scandal was the motive behind the killing. Much more will come out about that. In the worst-case scenario, Muscat knew there was a plan to kill her through his best buddy Yorgen Fenech."
He claimed that there was a Whatsapp chat between Muscat, Fenech and Schembri ... "they were close that they even used to share photos of the food they were cooking."
Muscat said this was a "most disgusting" use of Parliamentary privilege and said the PN MP's claims were slanderous and a figment of Azzopardi's imagination.
Muscat said that, while he was willing to accept criticism, he would not allow anyone to tarnish his reputation with "calumnies."
"I am the only prime minister on whose watch, such a high profile murder was solved," he added.
Delivering a ruling on Tuesday, the Speaker said Parliamentary rules state that MPs should not attribute bad intentions to their colleagues.
What Jason Azzopardi said qualifies as a clear and rampant breach of privilege, he said.
Quoting from Erskine May, often referred to as the Parliamentary 'bible', Farrugia said Parliamentary language should be characterised by good temper and moderation.
This was definitely not the case with Azzopardi's choice of words, he said.
Farrugia invited Azzopardi to retract his speech, but the MP refused, saying he had already made such claims outside the Chamber, thus, beyond the protection afforded by Parliament. He said he looked forward to the issue being taken up before Parliament's Privileges Committee, to "see who is telling the truth."
Given his refusal to retract his statement, the Speaker found Azzopardi prima facie guilty of breaching parliamentary privilege and said the case would be heard by the Privileges Committee.
The Speaker also urged all MPs to consider their words and not attribute bad intentions to their colleagues, with respect towards the standing orders and out of respect towards each other.
While they have the right to criticise, the debate must be kept civil, he said, urging Members to exercise auto discipline and prudence.