Former minister Konrad Mizzi walked out of a Public Accounts Committee meeting to ask for a ruling from the Speaker on the way he was being treated during the committee's meeting today.

He was testifying on a report compiled by the Auditor General on the Electrogas project.

Soon after the first question was asked by committee chairman Beppe Fenech Adami, an argument ensued on what Mizzi interpreted as being insinuations made by the PN MP.

The insinuations concerned a remark by Fenech Adami on how Mizzi's friends - later named as David Galea and Brian Tonna - had been helped by their close relationship to the minister and to the Labour Party.

After some heated exchanges, Mizzi and his lawyers walked out of the committee to ask for a ruling from the Speaker on the matter, resolving not to answer another question until that ruling is handed down.

The walk-out came soon after Mizzi concluded his marathon presentation on the Electrogas project - which has been ongoing for a total of around 8 hours across four different sittings - and began to face questions from the committee.

As soon as Mizzi walked out, PN MP Karol Aquilina proposed that the committee condemns and deplores Mizzi for not answering the committee's questions and leaving the room.  However, the PL MPs on the committee - who outnumber the PN MPs by four to three - voted against it, in light of the PN MP's "dishonesty" over why Mizzi had left the room.

PN MP Ryan Callus lamented that PL MP Glenn Bedingfield was presenting himself as Konrad Mizzi's "third lawyer", prompting further angry reactions from fellow MPs as the meeting descended into the usual partisan fracas which has come to characterise the inter-party relations on the committee.

Mizzi by then had proceeded to the main chamber and asked the Speaker for a ruling. He insisted that his company never had any relationship with 17 Black, “as had been confirmed by Brian Tonna before the PAC.”

Mizzi told the Speaker that the Opposition members of the committee had alleged that he had received suitcases full of cash, called him corrupt and said he was unable to walk in the street with his head held high. “This is not a serene environment. This is a group of people who think they can hijack the institutions.”

"Although I am ready to discuss everything, the Opposition members of the committee are creating an environment which does not allow me to answer questions. Thus, I need protection from the house," Mizzi said.

The Speaker said he would see the transcript of the sitting and give a ruling. Mizzi asked the Speaker to see transcripts of all four sittings he had attended.

The committee meanwhile ultimately unanimously decided that Mizzi be re-summoned immediately, having sought a ruling from the Speaker in Parliament's plenary sitting.

Mizzi returned to the meeting, but subsequently refused - save for some remarks here and there - to answer any of the questions, preferring to wait for the Speaker to make his ruling.

After a solid 45 minutes of this, Aquilina described Mizzi as a "suck-up" (laghqi) to Electrogas - a statement which Mizzi objected vehemently to, calling Aquilina a suck-up back and calling him "rude."

Mizzi requested that Aquilina withdraws the remark, but following Aquilina's refusal, said that he would not answer any of the committee's questions at any point.  He however soon mellowed from this position, and continued to field questions - although actual answers were few and far between owing to him wanting to wait for the Speaker's ruling.

Earlier in the meeting, Mizzi wrapped up his marathon presentation by providing details about Enemalta's hedging agreements on the price of gas and future price arrangements.

He concluded his presentation by making four points related to what he said were allegations against him by the PN.

On the first part, Mizzi insisted that there isn't and never was any relationship between him or any of his trusts with the companies 17 Black or Macbridge, and that there was never any corruption on either the Electrogas project nor the Mozura Wind Farm project in Montenegro.

Secondly, Mizzi said that he was not involved in the memorandum of understanding for Gozo General Hospital with Vitals Global Healthcare which was a precursor to the company winning a state concession for that hospital and two others.

Thirdly, he denied that he had any account with Pilatus Bank, not least an account with millions of euros in it as had been alleged. Finally, he said that an allegation by PN MP Karol Aquilina that he had received suitcases full of money from Azerbaijan was a "lie" as was the allegation that he had attempted to call the Prime Minister seven times last week.

The meeting will continue on Thursday afternoon.

The meeting can be followed live below: