Culture Minister Owen Bonnici has stated that he amended the answer to a parliamentary question due to a "typo" and not in response to a request to investigate a junior minister.

The minister was answering a parliamentary question by PN MP Darren Carabott

In his initial statement to parliament, Bonnici had conveyed that 'Lex Group Ltd - Legal Entity' was contracted to provide legal services to Fondazzjoni Ċentru Kreattivita, a state-run entity, with a monthly retainer of €800.

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola claimed that the answer was changed after he submitted a call for an investigation by the Standards Commissioner.

On Monday, Cassola wrote to the Standards Commissioner to request an investigation into what Cassola is alleging to be a breach of ethics by parliamentary secretary Andy Ellul.

In his letter, Cassola said that a reply to parliamentary question 11465 given on 25 September, it emerged that Lex Group Limited was given a consultancy contract from the Creativity Centre Foundation, worth €800 a month, valid for the whole of 2023.

The owner of this company is Andy Ellul, and the contract was given when he was already a parliamentary secretary within the Office of the Prime Minister.

According to Cassola, this constitutes a breach of ethics and “confirms the impunity climate” that has taken root in the political class.