“If you don’t like my answer it’s not my problem, it’s your problem”, the insufferable Byron Camilleri replied to a journalist.

Byron Camilleri, Home Affairs Minister, was asked a simple question.  “Did you speak to (Police Commissioner) Angelo Gafa since Saturday?”  Saturday was the day when hundreds of pages of detailed documents, including the conclusions of a magisterial inquiry, were published.  They revealed that the police, colluding with the Attorney General, not only defied the order of the magistrate to prosecute Pilatus officials but overturned his explicit direction.

Antoniella Gauci, the daughter and sister of Robert Abela’s canvassers, was accused by an international independent investigative company of committing a long list of serious crimes - transferring proceeds of crime, converting proceeds of crime, concealing proceeds of crime, assisting customers to realise the benefit from crimes previously committed and knowingly misleading financial institutions. Based on that evidence, the Magistrate ordered Antoniella Gauci’s prosecution.

Instead the police and AG conspired to provide Gauci with a nolle prosequi - a declaration that no action would be taken against her. Instead of abiding by the rule of law and following the magistrate’s direction, the police and AG felt they were above the law.  And proceeded to overturn the magisterial direction.

Having perverted the course of justice, the AG felt she didn’t owe the public any explanation. She fled from reporters after being shielded by the Justice Minister. The police commissioner rejected an invitation to answer questions on Andrew Azzopardi’s radio programme. They’re both running because they know what they’ve done is wrong - very wrong.

The country now has access to robust evidence, including e-mails from Deputy Commissioner Alessandra Mamo, showing that those meant to uphold the rule of law broke it. The police force worked, behind our backs, to protect the daughter of Robert Abela’s canvasser despite an explicit magisterial decree ordering her prosecution.

Minister Byron Camilleri is responsible for the police.  One week after the damning revelations, the reporter asked him a basic question.  Had he met the police commissioner?

Minister Camilleri refused to answer.  The reporter was compelled to repeat the question. “I think that’s the same question you already asked me,” he deflected. “You didn’t answer, which is why I’m asking you again”, the reporter replied.  “It’s not that I didn’t answer, it’s that you didn’t like my answer,” was the Minister’s cocky retort.

“Did you meet him, yes or no?”, she insisted. “I am going to give you the same answer I gave you before”.

“Did you speak to Gafa?”  A splurge of verbal diarrhoea followed: “I continuously meet with everyone, I speak to everyone, with various heads of sections including Angelo Gafa,….I meet everyone”.  Camilleri then launched into a frontal attack “I understand that the politics of the PN is the same as that of Repubblika….. the Maltese and Gozitan public do not agree with your politics… I understand that for long years it’s been your politics as PN to attack the police corps”.

The reporter was not giving up.  “People have a right to know”, she persisted.

“People have a right to know everything,” the Minister bluffed, “and I continuously give them those answers”.

Byron Camilleri was flustered. He lost his rag. He could hardly have been less charismatic had he tried. The usually monotonic calm Byron was rattling through garbled non-answers at break neck speed. But he just made a fool of himself.  “People have a right to know everything,” he declared while telling them nothing at all.

His agitation, his attempt to drown out the reporter, his graceless hostility were embarrassing. He refused to answer even the most basic yes-no question - had he met the commissioner?

Evading questions and ignoring facts won’t make the truth vanish. That question is key. Isn’t the police commissioner subject to the rule of law? Why is his police force colluding with the AG to pervert the law?

That question strikes at the heart of justice, at the very foundation of democratic society. Why is the daughter of Robert Abela’s canvasser exonerated of her long list of alleged crimes by the police and AG?  Why is a person with connections to the prime minister exculpated while a starving man is jailed for stealing a can of tuna? Why is Konrad Mizzi still a free man while a Marsaxlokk parish priest is publicly humiliated? Why is Keith Schembri still getting direct orders while Paul Pace is being investigated?

Being rude to a reporter, making ludicrous accusations against Rebubblika and PN is not going to make those questions go away.  Camilleri’s arrogance and rudeness is nothing but self-destructive. His pugnacious belligerence towards journalists certainly won’t win over floating voters.

The people have a right to know and a right to expect answers from those trusted with high office - without insolence and hostility. The minister won’t reply because he knows what happened is wrong - very wrong.

Byron Camilleri’s evasiveness over something so critical raises even more concerns that the AG’s and police’s effort to defy the rule of law was planned at higher levels.  Camilleri’s efforts to cover up what is nothing short of criminal suggests that the nolle prosequi was masterminded by higher authority. Somebody gave the order.

Wouldn’t Byron Camilleri want to know why magisterial direction was defied? Who made the decision to defy the magistrate? And for what reasons?

Those reasons might well be the same reasons why the FIAU report on Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri was buried. Or why Pilatus bank was shielded for so long, why Adrian Hillman was protected, why Melvin Theuma’s fake job was covered up. Or why Chris Borg kept getting lucrative government contracts.  Or why nobody’s been prosecuted over the Mozura windfarm, the Vitals deal, Electrogas, or the St Vincent de Paule DB deal.

Camilleri has no choice but to continue with Labour’s absurdity of evading questions and intimidating journalists to stop them exposing the truth.

Byron Camilleri is right.  His non-answers are our problem - one we’re determined to solve.