Sant not reading media reports about hacking allegations

Former opposition leader Alfred Sant yesterday told the House Privileges Committee that he had refused to read any article published in the local media about his allegation that his government e-mail account had been hacked by MITTS for two years. He had no other statement to make except for what he had said in the adjournment of the House last October 8.

The meeting started with both Dr Sant and Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt, who is being accused of having breached Dr Sant's privilege as an MP, declaring that they found each side's proposals for a solution to the impasse unacceptable.

The rest of the meeting, chaired by Speaker Louis Galea, was taken up deciding how Dr Gatt would present his own case after having asked Dr Sant a few questions. Dr Sant said he would resist any attempt at making him, the plaintiff, sound like the accused. The criminal allegations against him had been made by Dr Gatt, and it was up to the latter to prove his case.

Dr Gatt said that at this stage he simply wanted to have some photocopies of newspaper articles put on record. These included an article in which Malta Today's Raphael Vassallo, in the issue of October 1, 2008, quoted Dr Sant as saying that MITTS had been hacking his government e-mail account for two years.

Dr Sant denied having told Mr Vassallo this, asking what interest he would have had to spin such a story. He said the end result of the whole episode was that certain correspondents of his were no longer addressing him by e-mail.

House Leader Tonio Borg said Dr Sant had first voiced his suspicions in September 2007, not to Mr Vassallo. Dr Sant said he had never made a formal complaint.

The sitting wound up after Dr Gatt said he would be producing two witnesses, one from Malta Today and one from MITTS, at the next sitting.

The case will continue being heard on March 2.