The Commission for the Administration of Justice said yesterday it had taken "no decision" in any proceedings involving Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera.

It said: "With reference to reports that have appeared in the press and electronic media, the commission clarifies that, to date, it has taken no decision in any proceedings before it involving Magistrate Dr Consuelo Scerri Herrera."

Testifying on Monday against columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who is charged with defaming the magistrate in a series of articles on her blog, Dr Scerri Herrera said she had presented her assets to the commission and found to have done no wrong. That statement came in reaction to allegations of abuse of power levelled at her by Ms Caruana Galizia.

The magistrate's lawyer, Stephen Tonna Lowell, yesterday denied that Dr Scerri Herrera had ever "said or implied" that the commission had made some decision.

He quoted Dr Scerri Herrera as saying: "I submitted all my assets... and from them (from the documents submitted by her) it emerges that this was not the case... "

The commission's statement came only a day after Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Cassar denied another part of Dr Scerri Herrera's testimony. She named him as part of a group of policemen who Ms Caruana Galizia described as "sleazy" and who, she claimed, had bought the magistrate drinks at a popular Valletta restaurant some years ago while the two women were at a ladies lunch.

"It wasn't me. I don't even know where this restaurant is. I never bought a drink for a magistrate or any other citizen. My life is spent at work, at home and at the beach in Marsascala," Mr Cassar insisted on Tuesday.

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.