On Monday the Government's Department of Information issued a statement following remarks made by Grace Borg during a press conference that afternoon, during which Mrs Borg, accompanied by singer Keith Camilleri - who represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest - said she expected the minister to apologise for what happened at the airport in the morning, when Fabrizio Faniello returned from Greece.

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture made the following comments:

¤ The minister was at the airport to meet the singer who represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest, as he had done in previous years;

¤ When the minister was still at the airport he asked the chairman of the Malta Song Board, Robert Abela, to approach Keith Camilleri to enable the minister to congratulate him and wish him well.

¤ As soon as Minister Zammit Dimech went to greet Mr Camilleri, Mrs Borg began to shout and shriek "Issa tridu tersqu lejh?" (Only now do you want to support him?) and pulled him away.

¤ Seeing this attitude, Minister Zammit Dimech kept calm and continued with his engagements.

"In the light of such deplorable behaviour, it is Mrs Borg who should apologise and not vice-versa. Mrs Borg should also apologise to the whole people of Malta because after she resigned as chairman of the Malta Song Borg she began, in breach of every ethical rule, to help represent another nation in competition with our own country," the statement concluded.

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