Despite Angelo Gafà's shortcomings at the helm of the Police Force, the Labour Government, without the Maltese people's knowledge, chose to renew his contract and double his pay, the Nationalist Party said Wednesday.

The Maltese and Gozitan people are paying almost €9,000 a month for the Government to keep the Police Commissioner quiet, a statement signed by MP Darren Carabott said.

Thanks to a Parliamentary Question by Partit Nazzjonalista MP David Agius, it was revealed that since Gafà's contract was renewed, the Police Commissioner has been receiving practically double the salary.

The PN is not alone in stating that Angelo Gafà's position is untenable as Police Commissioner. This is in light of significant failures, including:

• Major shortcomings in the prosecution or investigation of serious cases,
• Public comments with subtle political messages, and
• Internal issues hampering the Police Force's operations.

Instead of insisting that Angelo Gafà fulfils his duties properly, the Labour Government chose to secretly grant him a financial package worth more than €107,000 per year, including allowances, the PN said.

Worse still, this increase was hidden in allowances that exceed €60,000 rather than raising his pay scale. These allowances surpass the Police Commissioner's salary. It's no wonder that in recent weeks, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà felt comfortable enough to say that his job is to implement the policies stemming from the Labour Government's political manifesto.

The political responsibility for all this falls on Prime Minister Robert Abela and Minister for Home Affairs, Security, and Employment Byron Camilleri, the PN said.

The PN asked whether it was they who approved these increases and what reasons could ever justify such an increase.

The PN expressed full solidarity with the officers in the Police Force, who see these types of allowances being given to someone who is failing them significantly, knowing that the Force they work in is going through one of its toughest and most challenging periods due to lack of resources and worsening conditions.

While many officers in the Force are struggling to cope with the workload and working under serious shortages, while the situation in many police stations is precarious, and while this is failing to attract a good number of new recruits to the Force, Angelo Gafà is sitting comfortably, the statement said.

Just as it has neglected the health and education of the Maltese people, the Labour Government has also abandoned their safety, the PN said.

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said in Parliament later in the day that the PN's statement was a "total lie" and was relying on lies "made by certain blogs."

PN MP Darren Carabott - who had asked the minister a parliamentary question on this topic - said that the statement was based on information provided by the ministry itself.

Camilleri said that the ministry had tabled answers and information on every rank within the police force because this is the government which strengthened the working conditions of those in the force.

"I understand that for the Opposition, all ranks are bad," Camilleri said. "Today I understand more as to why when the PN was in government not only did it not improve working conditions but it made police officers work without paying them - and now I understand that they want to do the same," he added.

In a statement later, the Labour Party said that it is "fake news and far from the truth to say that the Police Commissioner's salary has doubled. It is equally false to claim that the Minister for Home Affairs, Security, and Employment tried to hide anything."

"As explained in Parliament this evening, the details about the Police Commissioner's salary and that of the highest-ranking officials in the force were made public because it was the Minister himself who placed them on the table in response to PQ21730 during the session on October 15. This was done even though the parliamentary question did not specifically request this information. The Police Commissioner was not the only high-ranking official in the force to see changes in his conditions. In fact, following the Ministry's strengthening of the salaries for all police officers through a new sectoral agreement, it was revealed from the same parliamentary question that there was a revision in the conditions for Superintendents, Assistant Commissioners, and Deputy Commissioners. The Opposition is as engrossed in fake news as it is in attacking institutions. Then it pretends to express regret over the attacks on members of the force, while its fake news continues to try to discredit the same force."