The Labour Party has accused the Nationalist Party of failing to correct a statement about parliamentary proceedings more than 48 hours after Speaker Carmelo Abela ruled that its account of a committee meeting was incorrect.

The dispute concerns a PN statement published on 28 September, entitled “Government blocks Parliament from discussing Opposition Bill to Implement recommendations of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry.”

In a ruling delivered in Parliament on Monday, 5 October, Abela concluded that the omnibus bill referred to in the statement had not been mentioned during the meeting of the Committee on the Business of the House and had not yet been formally presented by the Opposition.

The ruling followed a complaint by Government Whip Naomi Cachia, who argued that the PN statement did not accurately reflect what had happened during the committee meeting. She disputed the suggestion that the government had used parliamentary procedure to block an Opposition bill from being discussed.

Abela said the list of pending parliamentary business circulated during the committee meeting on 28 September included three Opposition motions. These concerned measures to combat loneliness and strengthen social wellbeing, a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Energy and the Environment, and the implementation of recommendations made by the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

However, the omnibus bill referred to in the PN statement did not feature on that list. The Speaker also noted that the Opposition had not formally presented the bill by the time he delivered his ruling.

He therefore concluded that the statement’s account of the committee proceedings was incorrect because it was based on premises that did not reflect what had taken place.

While acknowledging the Opposition’s position that private members should have more opportunities to submit proposals and participate in parliamentary debate, Abela stressed that parliamentary proceedings must be reported accurately.

He said the work of the House and discussions held within it should be reported faithfully, fairly and in a balanced manner, adding that political interpretation was legitimate but the reporting of facts was not a matter of interpretation.

The Speaker instructed the Clerk of the House to send a copy of the ruling to the PN’s Communications Office so that the necessary corrections could be made to the statement.

In a statement issued by its Communications Office, the Labour Party said the PN had still not issued a correction more than 48 hours after the ruling, accusing the Opposition of refusing to acknowledge its mistake.

The PL said that, during Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting, Cachia had again drawn the Speaker’s attention to the matter and formally asked him to take action over the PN’s failure to correct the statement.

The Labour Party said political statements should be truthful and based on facts, arguing that the PN should take responsibility for what it publishes and correct the statement without further delay.