The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that transport minister Ian Borg did not commit a breach of ethics when he commissioned an advertisement to wish the public a happy Easter.

The advert in question appeared in GWUU newspaper It-Torċa on Easter Sunday. It included a photograph of Minister Ian Borg and the text “The Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects wishes a happy Easter to the people of Malta and Gozo. Work in our communities will continue so we can keep providing a better quality of life.”

The advert also featured Malta’s national coat of arms.

A complaint was filed by independent candidate Arnold Cassola on the grounds that it should not have been paid for with public funds. If, on the other hand, the advert had been paid for personally by Minister Ian Borg, Cassola stated that it should not have included the national coat of arms.

It emerged from the Standards Commissioner’s investigation that the advert, which cost €82.60, had been commissioned and paid for by Minister Borg personally, not through his ministry. This was verified by the Commissioner from the invoice and the receipt for payment, which were presented to him by Minister Borg.

In addition, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry confirmed that no payments were made by the ministry in connection with the advert.

Minister Borg informed the Commissioner that the coat of arms had been included in the advert by mistake. The Commissioner observed that the advert should have been issued in the name of the Minister, not the ministry, but he accepted that this too was a mistake.

The Commissioner noted that once the Minister had paid for the advert himself, he had nothing to gain by issuing it in the name of his ministry rather than in his own name. The Commissioner therefore concluded that there had been no breach of ethics in this case and he dismissed the complaint.

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola said, in response to the news, that Hyzler is being "naïve with a shark like Minister Borg" for accepting Borg's explanation "that an emblem of Malta was used by accident instead of his personal logo."

Cassola said that Borg had already tried to bluff that on TV he had said 'Haqqallanqas' "but fortunately that day you did not believe him."

"Despite this lack of agreement between us I reiterate my respect and full trust in you and in the work you are doing for our country," Cassola said.