Labour MP John Attard Montalto came close to being assaulted during a long and stormy meeting of the Labour Party's executive and parliamentary groups on Monday evening, sources said yesterday.

A delegate sitting at the other end of an L-shaped table stood up and attempted to assault Dr Attard Montalto but was physically restrained by other delegates.

Keith Grech, a party councillor, also came under fire for writing an article in The Times arguing that the party should have a pro-EU leader.

The meeting, that lasted some six hours and came to an end at about 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning, decided that the party leadership election should go ahead as planned. Dr Attard Montalto withdrew his proposal once he realised there was no support for his suggestion to shelve the election until the party's policies were discussed.

The MLP said yesterday that "after a long discussion, it was decided that the procedures started as stipulated by the statute governing the election of party leader and deputy leaders would take place in line with the decision taken by the party executive on April 24".

The Labour leader will be elected on May 15 while the deputy leaders will be elected on May 22.

The sources said that although the meeting was so lengthy "there is very little to say about it. It was a 'business as usual meeting' with most delegates hotly repeating the same arguments".

"Most of the comments vented frustration at Dr Attard Montalto for the comments he gave to Net TV soon after the electoral defeat and accused him of being used by the Nationalist Party.

"Some wanted the party to boycott Joe Grima's programme on Net TV. Others advocated that the party should stop people from writing in The Times and The Malta Independent," sources said.

"The discussion was very intense. People just said a lot of what they had wanted to say but none of it led anywhere," the sources said.

Contacted yesterday, Dr Attard Montalto said he did not wish to comment on whether he was about to be assaulted at the meeting.

Party delegates were advised not to divulge what went on during meetings, sources said.

Party leader Alfred Sant left the meeting some 90 minutes after it started, saying he did not wish to influence a discussion which concerned his position. The sources said he wanted to leave earlier but was convinced by Dr Attard Montalto to stay on.

Before the meeting, Dr Sant had released a statement saying he felt "duty bound" to vote against the ratification of the EU accession treaty.

The sources said deputy leader George Vella told the meeting that whatever the parliamentary group decided he would vote against the ratification of the treaty. Joe Debono Grech argued that if elected, he too would vote against ratification.

Dr Attard Montalto argued he would like to vote against ratification but would respect the decision of the parliamentary group.

The sources said the feeling within the party parliamentary group was that they should vote against ratification.

Several Labour MPs did not attend the meeting, including Michael Falzon and Charles Mangion, who are both seeking support for the deputy leadership posts, the sources added.

Both Anglu Farrugia and Dr Attard Montalto are actively canvassing for the leadership post while several Labourites are still urging former party deputy leader George Abela to run.

Dr Farrugia is promising delegates a reform in the party and its media and that he would strive to unite the different factions within the party and bring back Labourites who left.

Dr Sant too is seeing delegates. The sources said he was making appointments to speak to delegates in various localities.

Some Labourites said they were not excluding that Dr Sant would decide not to stand at the 11th hour and that Evarist Bartolo, who is contesting the deputy leadership for party affairs, would then run for the leadership.

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