Justice Minister Edward Lewis had denied a claim, by PN MP Jason Azzopardi, that he had met Yorgen Fenech’s wife in February of this year.

The Nationalist MP uploaded a photo of a black Land Rover, saying that on 25 February, Marlene Fenech had parked her car in front of the Lija church and then walked to the minister’s family home.

At the time, Fenech was already in prison and court proceedings against him were underway in Malta and in France, Azzopardi said. The PN MP said the public should know what the purpose of the visit was.

In a statement, Justice Minister categorically denied Azzopardi’s claim and said this was another one of the MP’s lies.

The minister said no “systematic attack on his personality or character will keep him from performing his ministerial duties.”

The minister will continue working on historic and unprecedented reforms as agreed with the Venice Commission, with the aim of strenghening the rule of law and good governance, the statement said.

In a separate statement, Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers have said that the accused’s wife was visiting a medical professional when pictured in Lija last February.

Fenech’s lawyers said: “Shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi should know better than to use personal attacks aimed at Yorgen Fenech’s family to advance his own political agenda. It is deplorable that a Member of Parliament uses an appointment with a medical professional to make personal attacks and score cheap political points.”

The defence team also called on the presumption of innocence to be protected, so that a “fair trial is safeguarded”.