The Nationalist Party this afternoon accused the prime minister of putting himself above the rules after he denied that members of his Cabinet were breaching the ministerial code of ethics.

Dr Muscat insisted that ministers were not breaking the ministerial code of ethics when he replied to reporters' questions this morning.

He was asked whether he believed the wrong signal was being given, with the code being flouted by several people. Dr Muscat said he did not believe it was.

Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca was the first member of Dr Muscat’s Cabinet to breach the code but he was granted a waiver due to his medical specialisation.

Minister George Vella last week admitted he was still seeing patients on Saturday mornings although he was not charging them. He said he did not need a waiver as he was doing his duty according to the ethics of the medical profession and he was telling the patients to seek other doctors.

Asked when the current revision of the code would be concluded, Dr Muscat did not give a timeline but said one could hardly expect the revision to be concluded in five weeks. When it was, however, it would be made public, he said.

The current code, still in force, was drawn up in 1994 to ensure Cabinet members devoted their whole time to their official duties. It states that, on a minister's appointment, “it is expected from him not to continue with his private work”.

The prohibition also covered consultancies, attendance at offices or clinics to give professional advice,"even if the work is not remunerated”.

PN REACTION

In a statement, the Nationalist Party accused Dr Muscat of placing himself above the rules by allowing his ministers to breach the code and then denying that such a breach was being made.

The way Dr Muscat's government was acting showed that the people involved had gone into politics not to serve, but to grab what they could for themselves, the PN said.