The PN has called for the immediate resignation or removal of Ministers Clint Camilleri and Clayton Bartolo following the publication of a Standards Report which found that they breached the code of ethics.

The PN believes that its demands are reasonable following the precedent set by previous cases involving Justyne Caruana and Rosianne Cutajar.

In a press conference, PN MP Claudette Buttigieg said that the two ministers committed fraud.

Buttigieg said that the reason behind the demand for their removal is "obvious" due to preceding cases, those of Justyne Caruana and Rosianne Cutajar, that set a precedent and for that reason, the party insists that its request is met without the Prime Minister "dragging his feet". She said that Justyne Caruana had resigned immediately. She said that the publication of the report was itself prolonged apparently due to the 2025 Budget.

On his part PN MP Mario de Marco said that the Standard Commissioner's decision was "absolute, clear and equivocal" that it was an abuse of power. He said that both ministers broke the law, specifically the Act of Standards in Public Life as well as the code of ethics for ministers and parliamentary secretaries on two counts.

MP de Marco said that both ministers had no sense of service to the general community but were instead motivated by personal gain. Secondly, he said that Bartolo specifically showed a lack of diligence with regards to use of public taxpayer funds and abused of them. He concluded that both ministers abused of their power and for that reason, their position is "untenable".

Lastly, PN MP Alex Borg spoke of the timeline of the fraud being "synchronised" and thought out with the case of Justyne Caruana in mind before stressing that it was planned. He said that this is a case of "who you know" within government as opposed to merit and said that the resignations should follow the same practice as the previous two cases.

PL reacts

The Labour Party, in reaction, said that the word "fraud" never appears anywhere in the report by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and is merely another "invention by Bernard Grech and his extremist factions."

It said that the PN, at times "attacks and questions the integrity of the Commissioner for Standards, and at other times quotes him with every sentence that Bernard Grech thinks he can use for political gain."

"The facts in the case mentioned today refer to a position held more than three years ago, which lasted only a few months. The person in question performed their duties, and the Commissioner for Standards comments on the functions related to their job title. So much so that the Commissioner for Standards found no criminal misconduct and did not refer the case to other authorities like the police, even though he had every right to do so under the law. While the Nationalist Party persists in personal attacks, the Labour Party will allow the parliamentary process to conclude as requested by the Commissioner for Standards."