UPDATED 17:22 Labour is "detached from reality", says PN

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said today that Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi didn't try to hide anything when he opened a company in Panama. 

Addressing a Labour Party press conference to criticize the  loan scheme introduced by the PN, Dr Bonnici defended both Dr Mizzi and the prime minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri.

He said that while the PN had set up a loan scheme which circumvented the party funding law and was based on secrecy, Dr Mizzi was transparent as he declared his Panama company in the declaration of assets handed to the prime minister.

Both Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri are currently facing a fine for breaching the income tax law for failing to immediately declare their trust abroad.

Asked why, despite being the PL deputy leader, Dr Mizzi has failed to address a Labour press conference, Dr Bonnici said that Dr Mizzi was working hard to continue to deliver in the energy sector as he had done when bills were reduced.

Dr Bonnici and Labour CEO Gino Cauchi said the PN should publish the names of all those people who loaned it money. Otherwise the party should stop the scheme if it wanted to safeguard its credibility.

This, Dr Bonnici said, was the second law which Dr Busuttil had undermined after voting in its favour.

He had voted for the Whistleblower Act but then filed a judicial protest against a whistleblower, and now, he was circumventing the Party Funding Act.  

Labour is "detached from reality", says PN

In a reaction, the PN said that its loans scheme abided by the the party financing law spearheaded by Dr Bonnici himself, which stipulated how political parties could raise money.  

While the PL's multi-million electoral campaign meant it was beholden to big business, the PN was seeking to raise money from individual lenders at good interest rates, the party said.