Parliament has approved a Government motion for the setting up of a Parliamentary Ethics Committee.

Introducing the motion, Acting Prime Minister Louis Grech said the committee will be chaired by the Speaker.

The members will be government MPs George Vella and Justyne Caruana and Nationalist MPs Francis Zammit Dimech and Ryan Callus. The motion was approved without debate.

In a comment to Times of Malta, Mr Grech said this development was important not only for the positive changes it would bring about but also because it sent a positive message to the electorate that both sides of the House were capable of putting partisan politics aside and reaching consensus.

He said he believed that there were more areas where both parties could seek collaboration, thus achieving a more mature level of politics in the interest of all.