Former trade unionist John Bencini said yesterday that his letter to Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier three years ago had been “misinterpreted”.

He insisted he had made no corruption allegations against the Government or the party and, therefore, did not need to withdraw any such claims.

Mr Bencini, a former president of the Forum grouping of trade unions and previously president of the Malta Union of Teachers, addressed Labour’s general conference on Wednesday about how he had switched from the Nationalist Party to Labour.

He mentioned a letter he had sent to Dr Borg Olivier together with his PN membership card listing the reasons why he was resigning from the party after 50 years.

In his letter, dated June 12, 2010, Mr Bencini referred to the difficulties Forum was facing to secure a seat on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.

Forum, he had told Dr Borg Olivier, would “until the eve of the election, continue to uncover the hypocrisy of your Government, a Government made of a party which has lost all its credibility and where corruption is rife”.

Five days later, Dr Borg Olivier replied and forwarded the letter to the Police Commissioner for investigation.

Mr Bencini answered Dr Borg Olivier that same day, clarifying that he was not referring to any particular corruption cases and that he did not mean to come across as making any allegation against the Government or the party.

In this letter, which The Times has seen, Mr Bencini apologised for writing that “corruption was rife”, adding that he did not express himself properly.

He said he never meant to say that the PN was corrupt and explained that he was referring to reports of corruption carried by the media at the time, particularly the VAT Department scandal and the Transport Malta licences bribery case.

Mr Bencini told Dr Borg Olivier that “it was only natural” that such cases were of concern to him.