Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday condemned anyone who made unauthorised statements on behalf of his party, stressing that no one had the right to speak for it.

He was asked whether he condemned the general secretary of the General Workers’ Union, Tony Zarb, over a recording where he is heard saying he could help a company win government tenders, especially if Labour was elected to power.

Asked if Mr Zarb had become a liability for Labour, Dr Muscat said he would not allow anyone to “dictate” or push anyone, even if such pressure came from within his own party.

Any statements hinting at an unlevel playing field for businesses damaged the party, he stressed.

However, Dr Muscat would not comment about the case, saying he had not heard the full, unedited recording of the conversation involving Mr Zarb.

The leader of the Opposition was addressing a press conference in Qawra where he announced that a Labour government would widen the remits of local councils, giving them a greater social role to tackle child poverty in their locality.

The Labour Party planned to introduce regular meetings involving heads of school, local council members, representatives of social services, social workers and police officers, among others, to address problems faced by children in households at risk of poverty, a situation that he described as “unacceptable”.

He said councils should have a wider role than just looking after the locality’s tarmac and street lighting.

Dr Muscat said the party was proposing to regularly revise the threshold of social services to ensure the increases vulnerable families received did not exclude them from certain services simply because they would have surpassed the ceiling.

Moreover, the party was committed to following the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin’s active labour market policy so that the unemployed would be encouraged to work.