The lack of need to check in when travelling between Schengen countries enabled the abduction of German children to Sicily and Malta without a trace, and the crime only came to light through a particular incident in Gozo, Family Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said in Parliament today.

The minister said he had learnt of the case through an e-mail sent to him by the chief executive of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services on July 7.

The fact that the children were covered by a court order and not a care order meant that the authorities could not leave their names at the port or airport to alert immigration officials.

Dr Farrugia said that following this incident, certain Maltese legislation would be revisited with legal and police input.

There were many questions about the case that were still open-ended. If the children – and another girl involved – had been covered by a care order their repatriation could have been insisted upon.

The German authorities, he said, disassociated themselves from the actions of the two social workers who had spirited the children out of Malta.

Dr Farrugia was replying to parliamentary questions by Nationalist MPs Clyde Puli and Ċensu Galea. He repeatedly referred to other questions he answered yesterday about the case.

When Mr Galea asked why the immigration authorities could not have suspected anything when two adults were accompanied by children of different surnames, the minister said there were loopholes that could be exploited.