I refer to the July 12 editorial headed Political Accountability Not Expediency.

The leader states that "the case involves two persons - three actually - who were found guilty of bribery and convicted. The first was retained in employment by the Malta Transport Authority (ADT), apparently on instructions by the Public Services Commission, after a presidential pardon".

The same editorial refers to the fact that "a presidential pardon can, of course, only be issued by the President. But, in turn, the President can only do so according to the advice given to him by the government. In the first case, the government was, therefore, in favour of a presidential pardon. In the case of the other two convicted persons one had still to see what the government may decide".

The editorial continues that "Had the government wanted to come clean on the matter of corrupt public officials, set a precedent and transmit a clear message, it should have advised the President not to issue a pardon to the first person convicted. And it should have taken the same stand this time around".

The above implies that the editor is hinting that it was a Nationalist government that was involved in both instances.

In a letter published in The Times on July 14, Charles Camilleri categorically states that the precedence occurred in 1996 under a Labour government.

Would there be somebody who's kind enough to confirm whether the presidential pardon was recommended by a Nationalist Administration or a Labour one? Fairness dictates that this question is answered. If it occurred under Nationalist rule, then Mr Camilleri should apologise. However, if it was a Labour regime that proposed the presidential pardon, then the editor should do exactly what is expected of him: put the record straight and publicly renounce the accusations. This should be done without delay.

Editorial note: The ADT employee in question was convicted in February 2005 with the presidential pardon being issued a few months later. Mr Camilleri was referring to another case under the Labour Administration which had led to the resignation of a minister.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.