The auditor general's new report on the power station extension continued to bring the Opposition's political dishonesty to the fore, the Finance Ministry said.

It said in a statement the opposition had recycled its allegations to give the impression it was saying new things when what it was saying had already been established to be false, deceitful and dishonest.

The ministry said that the auditor general had been tough with the opposition and called its allegations of corruption false and unproven. He said that no illegality had taken place and the opposition's allegations were just rhetoric.

This was the fourth time that an investigation on the opposition's allegations had taken place, the ministry said.

It said the AG had issued his report saying that the Opposition's allegations were untrue in April 2010. In November/December, he told the Public Accounts Committee that had he found any evidence of corruption he would have gone to the police.

He also said that the selection process was divided into 10 different stages, it was analysed in three reports, each of which was unanimously approved by three committees. A total of 25 people were involved in the process and no corruption was found.

Last January, the European Commission said that Malta had acted in accordance to European directives so there was no case against the country. And the auditor published his new report yesterday again saying that the opposition's allegations were untrue.

The ministry said that during the PAC meeting of December 14, it was established that the BWSC were €294 million cheaper than Bateman. The evaluation of the tender included maintenance.

But the opposition wanted a contract which would have entailed tariffs that were 30 per cent higher, the ministry said.