Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said has just been re-sworn as parliamentary secretary in a ceremony at the Palace, just six weeks after resigning over perjury charges of which he has since been cleared.

Dr Said will be given his former responsibilities for public dialogue, local government and consumer affairs.

Accompanied by his family, Dr Said said he looked forward to returning to his job as Parliamentary Secretary and continue working on the programme he had embarked upon.

He stepped down on September 23 after an appeals court ordered the police to institute court proceedings against him for alleged perjury in a child custody case, in which Dr Said was defence counsel for one of the parties.

He had been summoned to testify and, subsequently, the child’s father accused Dr Said of lying under oath.

A magistrate, the Attorney General and the police had found no case of perjury but when the matter went before the court of appeal, a judge ordered the police to proceed against Dr Said.

Dr Said had protested his innocence but stressed he was forced to resign given the gravity of the charge and to be able to defend himself.

A Gozo court last week acquitted him of all charges and the time limit for the filing of an appeal expired on Wednesday afternoon.

He said this morning he was satisfied the incident was finally over and he looked forward to continue working where he had left off.

Jokingly, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Dr Said to hurry up and get back to work as there was a lot to be done.

As soon as he entered the Chamber for this morning's Parliamentary sitting, deputy speaker Censu Galea, who was chairing, welcomed Dr Said and congratulated on his appointment.