Joseph Muscat ought to “come clean” and shoulder political responsibility over the shooting involving his minister’s driver, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil insisted yesterday.

As he challenged the Prime Minister to publish his mobile call logs to prove when he was actually informed of the crime, Dr Busuttil called for the resignations of Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, government head of communications Kurt Farrugia and Acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit.

Transcripts published by the Nationalist Party media on Friday evening of telephone conversations on the night of the incident contradicted the government’s official statement on the matter, he said.

The only reason why Muscat has not yet removed Mallia is because he himself is involved

“The only reason why Dr Muscat has not yet removed Dr Mallia is because he himself is involved and he is an accomplice in this mess. I challenge Dr Muscat to immediately publish the mobile call log,” Dr Busuttil said.

Should he fail, the Opposition would have to insist he also shouldered political responsibility because he probably knew of the cover-up before appointing the inquiry, he said at a press conference yesterday afternoon.

“He should come clean and for the first time tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

The transcripts, he said, showed that Dr Muscat, Dr Mallia and Mr Farrugia knew that shots were fired by the minister’s driver at a Scotsman’s car – and not in the air as was stated in the official statement.

It is “impossible”, he said, that Mr Farrugia, who is so close to Dr Muscat, did not inform him between 9.45pm (the time of the incident) and 11.15pm, when the official statement was issued. It was “obvious” he did, Dr Busuttil insisted.

Dr Busuttil said that the transcripts of telephone calls between the driver, Mr Zammit and Dr Mallia, left no one in any doubt that the government statement was “a cover-up”.

He said the Opposition was “angry and disgusted” at the dishonesty being displayed.

Rather than coming from the government and the State television station, Dr Busuttil said, the truth was instead being revealed by the Opposition and the independent media.

He also said that the minister had “lied” when he said at a news conference the following day that he did not know what had happened.

“The transcripts are clear evidence that he did so. There is no doubt that his position is no longer tenable. The positions of the Acting Police Commissioner and Mr Farrugia are also untenable and they should be removed,” he said.

When asked by The Sunday Times of Malta whether the Opposition was jumping the gun since the findings of the government-appointed inquiry, had not yet been published, Dr Busuttil said:

“(The inquiry) is deceitful. He ordered an inquiry to establish whether there was a cover-up when he and his head of communications knew it was the case,” he said, while reiterating that the inquiry was “useless”.

He also confirmed, in reply to another question, that he had not been summoned to appear before the inquiring board composed of three retired judges.

PN media’s transcript of phone conversations after shooting incident

A transcript of telephone conversations that took place on the night of November 19, shortly after the shooting incident, was released by the Nationalist Party on Friday.

The PN is insisting that these prove that Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia was immediately aware of what actually happened. The actual recording was not released except for one segment in which Acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit is heard talking.

The following is a transcript of what the PN media issued:

9.01pm: Paul Sheehan, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia’s driver, calls the police control room. He is heard telling the other driver to remain seated or he will unload his gun on him. (“Ara ma tqumx għax fuqek naħliħ”).

During the same call and while he was requesting assistance, he is heard telling the police that he was under the Tal-Qroqq tunnels and had “shot at him already” (“sparajt fuqu diga`”) He is also heard asking to speak to Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia who was at the depot attending a social event.

9.05pm: A conversation between Police Constable Ryan Pisani and Acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit. He is heard asking him: “Are you going to leave it here?” He was referring to the car.

Mr Zammit asked PC Pisani, the constable on duty in the control room, if the car was hit and he told him that both cars were hit.

Mr Zammit told PC Pisani to send the low loader and take the Scotsman to the Msida police station.

9.07pm: Mr Sheehan calls the police control room again to explain that he had an argument with a driver who had crashed his car with foreign plates into the ministerial car, GM14.

9.15pm: Mr Zammit calls Paul Sheehan to ask him whether the girl [Dr Mallia’s daughter] was with him. To this he replied that she was at his [Mr Sheehan’s] mother’s house. Later, Mr Sheehan told Mr Zammit: “Yes I spoke to the minister and informed him about everything.”

Asked again what had happened, Mr Sheehan told Mr Zammit: “I used the weapon and shot twice, but not at him.”

Mr Zammit called Superintendent Alexandra Mamo and instructs her to go on site to start investigations and also launch a magisterial inquiry. In the background, Dr Mallia is heard asking where the car had been hit.

9.30pm: Supt. Alexandra Mamo called Mr Zammit to inform him that the bullets had hit the Scotsman’s car. Mr Zammit instructed her to ensure that the evidence was preserved. “Do not touch anything and we’ll leave it up to the magisterial inquiry.”

9.45pm: Mr Zammit calls government communications officer Kurt Farrugia telling him to hold the line as he was on another line with Mr Sheehan. He was asking Mr Sheehan questions and passing on the information to Mr Farrugia.

Mr Zammit asked PC Sheehan where he had been parked and PC Sheehan replied that the other driver tried to run him into the wall. He then chased him. He said the other driver made a go at him with a beer bottle and asked whether he chased him, PC Sheehan replied: “I fired two shots at him.”

Mr Zammit asked him whether the other driver was in the car at the time, and PC Sheehan replied “of course”.

10.36pm: Mr Zammit called PC Sheehan again and told him: “Just to be sure before we issue the statement, are you sure of what you told us or were you confused?” and “You shot at him twice?” To both questions, PC Sheehan replied in the affirmative.

10.47pm: Mr Farrugia sent the statement to the Department of Information to forward it to all the media.

11.08pm: Mr Zammit calls PC Sheehan again and tells him that the minister wanted to speak to him.

During the conversation between the two, Dr Mallia is heard asking where his mother lived. To this, PC Sheehan replied: “Paul [the other driver] was going to pick up the girl.”

Dr Mallia told PC Sheehan that Paul was going to pick him up from the depot. In the same phone call with PC Sheehan, Dr Mallia ended the call with “ok sieħbi” (ok my friend).

11.14pm: The Department of Information issues a statement saying it was a hit-and-run and that there was no one in the car at the time and that two warning shots had been fired.