The government said today it never had plans to acquire or expropriate Palazzo Verdelin.
Its statement followed a news conference earlier today in which Shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi said the Opposition expected clear action by the Prime Minister over a story in The Sunday Times of Malta showing that Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela did not tell the truth about the government's intentions regarding the palazzo.
Dr Azzopardi said that if the Prime Minister wanted to show that he still held some control over his ministers, he should immediately take action regarding Mr Abela.
"It is not acceptable that a minister is caught lying and the Prime Minister remains silent.
"This government is hitting rock bottom after just two years and is becoming the most corrupt government since the days of Lorry Sant," Dr Azzopardi said.
Mr Abela had categorically denied in Parliament any government interest in acquiring the palazzo.
Quizzed later by Times of Malta, he again categorically denied ever being given any advice.
The Sunday Times of Malta also revealed that Marco Gaffarena had told the proprietors of the palazzo that the government was going to buy it.
But this afternoon, the government reiterated it never had plans to acquire or expropriate the palazzo.
This state of fact, it said, brought to nothing all the Opposition’s deceitful arguments and exposed its lies.
The Opposition's aim, it said was to cover itself from the close relations some within the Nationalist Party had with the Gaffarena family.
The government said it was the PN deputy leader who lied to cover his connections with Mr Gaffarena. The test was whether the Opposition leader would take steps against his deputy.
The government insisted that as the minister had said in Parliament, the government had no intention of buying the palazzo.
The facts, it said, were that in October, the Land Commissioner had received a letter from Ganado Advocates on behalf of Antonio Zammit’s heirs, Mark Gaffarena u B Tagliaferro and Sons Ltd, asking for the property to be vacated as from July 2011 and returned to its owners.
The palazzo, the government said, was owned by 12 people - Deborah Bonello Du Puis, Tanya Borg Cardona, Peter Caruana Galizia, Therese Demajo, Mark Gaffarena, Yvonne Galea, Charles Grech, Malcolm Soler, B Tagliaferro and Sons Ltd., Dorothy & Mark Zammit, Joe Zammit and Victor Zammit.
The Lands Department wrote to the permanent secretary within the Home Affairs Ministry informing him of the request but the ministry decided it would rather embark on legal procedures to retain the rental on the property at the same conditions and would not buy or expropriate.
The government also noted that the Internal Audit and Investigation Department investigation already included this property.
In a statement in the afternoon, the Nationalist Party challenged the government to publish all e-mails related to Palazzo Verdelin, including those referred to by The Sunday Times of Malta.
The Labour Party said in another statement that the people could see the difference between a Prime Minister who called an investigation on every allegation made and took the recommended action and an Opposition leader who said a lot but was only interested in covering up for those around him.
Simon Busuttil’s deputy lied in the most evident manner to try to hide his relationship with Mr Gaffarena.
When this was uncovered by the media, he lied again saying he had already said he had been Mr Gaffarena’s lawyer.
This, was a double lie, the PL said.