Labour leader Joseph Muscat insisted this morning that e-mails between him and RTK journalist Sabrina Agius had been hacked and not leaked.

Replying to journalists' questions during a visit to Benna, Dr Muscat insisted the e-mails were hacked and said this was ultimately theft.

Ms Agius was suspended yesterday after the contents of e-mails she exchanged with Labour leader Joseph Muscat were published.

This happened the day after Dr Muscat claimed in Parliament that correspondence via e-mail between him and Ms Agius had been hacked. He demanded an investigation by Speaker, Michael Frendo, protesting an "erosion of democracy".

The Labour leader said he will allow the Speaker to decide on the matter and he would give his views if asked to do so by Dr Frendo.

Asked whether he thought it was correct for a politician to send such e-mails and demand tip-offs, he said he surely did not plant Ms Agius at RTK and neither did he try to plant her at PBS or at The Times, as the companies themselves could confirm.

Asked whether his behaviour had been ethical, Dr Muscat said that what was definitely unethical was stealing e-mails.

He also said he could not understand why Mita seemed to be so nervous about the issue when he never implied that it had been involved.

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