Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this evening chided his communications aide Glenn Bedingfield for comments suggesting a judge had allowed their political leanings to cloud their judgment.

In a post on his blog, Glenn Bedingfield had suggested that judge Lorraine Schembri Orland had yesterday awarded the Nationalist Party two extra parliamentary seats due to partisan leanings. 

The Chamber of Advocates had excoriated Mr Bedingfield for his "unacceptable" comments and called on the Prime Minister to distance himself from them. 

A spokesman for the Prime Minister this evening said the comment was "uncalled for", adding that "freedom of speech is a universal freedom for all." 

"We also note his apology following the comment," the spokesman said. 

Mr Bedingfield had subsequently updated his blog with a post clarifying that he "respected the court and therefore Judge Schembri Orland's decision." 

"Nevertheless," he added, "facts remain facts and nobody can change history." 

In his original post, Mr Bedingfield had written that the judge, who yesterday ruled that the Nationalist Party was owed two parliamentary seats, "had contested the election as a PN candidate in 1992. Instead of getting that seat, she gave two to the PN." 

Earlier today, the PN had drawn parallels between Mr Bedingfield's comments and similar ones made by then-PL deputy leader Anglu Farrugia back in 2012. Dr Farrugia had stepped aside after being sternly rebuked by Dr Muscat.