The Nationalist Party has again insisted on the publication, by the Attorney General, of the 17 Black magisterial inquiry which, it said, is "now an issue of a criminal nature."

PN MPs Claudette Buttigieg and Darren Carabott were addressing the media after the AG refused to pass on a copy of the 17 Black inquiry to those who first requested the inquiry to begin with.

The inquiry occurred as a result of the strength of former Nationalist Party Leader Simon Busuttil and PN MEP David Casa with the help of lawyer Jason Azzopardi, Buttigieg said outside the PM's office in Valletta.

Buttigieg commented that the 17 Black story was revealed by Daphne Caruana Galizia, which the MP said showed that the company was tied to former Minister Konrad Mizzi and the former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri. "We are again confirming that Daphne Caruana Galizia was right," the MP remarked.

She said that the PN will continue insisting that the inquiry should be published immediately in its entirety, not just the conclusions. "The Advocate General has an obligation to do this if we truly want there to be justice in our country, and if we truly want there to be justice for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and above all because that is what the Maltese and Gozitan people deserve," Buttigieg stated.

Carabott said that from what has been revealed, it is clear that there are serious allegations about individuals who formerly worked in Castille, "where the country's political leadership takes place," being tied to 17 Black.

"We are not talking about the bad administration of public funds, we are now talking about an issue of a criminal nature, we are talking about criminal competence of an ex-minister, ex-chief of staff, and other people who occupied roles like these," Carabott said. He continued that when talking about this matter and the public interest, it is no longer a question of the poor administration of public funds, but rather a question of intentionally doing something illegal with the people's money.

With that in mind, Carabott continued that the PN has made it clear that the entire inquiry needs to be published. He commented that the PN knows that when the Public Accounts Committee was investigating the matter and brought in witnesses, "there was an ex-minister who passed along messages to one of the witnesses in the Electrogas investigation".

Carabott, who serves as the Chairperson of the PAC, said that the Labour Party's members on the committee voted to stop witnesses from being brought up in front of the committee as they had a majority. He remarked that the PL's members on the committee were ridiculing the investigation, and added that the Advocate General is hiding the conclusions of the inquiry.