Development works on a Bahrija property, belonging to Nationalist Party president Victor Scerri, have been stopped and will not continue until investigations into the awarding of the permit are finalised.

Dr Scerri said last night he would make the "necessary decisions" once the investigations, by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority chairman and the Police Commissioner, were concluded.

"All the work that has been done is covered by permits and, although I can legally continue with the work, I have taken this decision out of my own goodwill and without any prejudice," he said.

Asked whether he excluded completely halting the development, Dr Scerri said he did not exclude anything.

He said he had never asked for preferential treatment but neither did he want to be discriminated against.

He excluded that the party had pressured him to stop the work.

Dr Scerri said no work had been carried out since his call last Monday for the investigations into claims he exerted undue pressure to be granted development permits to build a villa, in the place of a three-roomed farmhouse, on his land in Bahrija.

In separate letters to both Mepa chairman and the Police Commissioner, Dr Scerri said the controversy had erupted because he was involved in politics and he felt comfortable asking for such an investigation because he knew he had not put any undue pressure on anyone. Dr Scerri promised his cooperation during the investigations.

The development was exposed by the Labour Party shortly before the June 6 European Parliament elections and various environmental organisations have criticised Mepa for granting the permit. They held a protest on site on Thursday and called for the Prime Minister's urgent intervention to stop the construction.

Dr Scerri yesterday hoped the verification process was carried out objectively and justly and not based on political motives.

"I am amazed how people who are today riding on public emotions without any respect to a formal process which took almost 10 years, remain silent in front of other outside development zone permits," he said, preferring not to specify.