Prime Minister Robert Abela has defended his decision not to recuse himself from the Cabinet meeting during which a presidential pardon request by one of the men accused of killing Daphne Caruana Galizia was rejected.

Vince Muscat ‘il-Kohhu’ is a former legal client of Robert Abela.

Earlier this week, the Cabinet discussed and rejected Muscat’s request.

Muscat had asked for a presidential pardon to tell police what he knows about the Caruana Galizia murder and other major crimes. He also reportedly told the police that he can name a Labour politician he believes was involved in the 2010 HSBC heist.

His lawyer, Mark Sant, had said that Abela should recuse himself from the decision “for transparency’s sake.”

“I do not abdicate my duties. There was no reason for my recusal,” Abela told journalists on Friday morning.

“Cabinet processed the request and rejected it and acted in line with the advice given by the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police.”

He said there was “absolutely no form of conflict of interest,” when the journalist pointed out that Muscat was a former client of his. “Had there been any conflict of interest, I would have recused myself.”

“I acted according to my conscience and we took a decision that I am convinced was the right one, and which is in line with the advice given by the AG and the Police Commissioner. I can say, with a clean conscience, that I took the right decision, including the decision not to abstain.”