The European Commission is considering giving more public information about the circumstances that led to John Dalli’s forced resignation as health commissioner but it first has to establish what it can legally divulge.

Confirming that Commission president José Manuel Barroso had received a letter from European Parliament president Martin Schultz, spokesman Olivier Bailly yesterday said the Commission was examining what more information it could release.

“I can confirm that Mr Schultz has asked us for additional information on what led to the resignation of the former commissioner and to have access to the contents of the OLAF investigation report,” Mr Bailly said.

“The president will be replying to this letter but the Commission will first have to consider the legal constraints before sending an official reply to MEPs,” he said.

Commission sources told The Times Mr Barroso’s Cabinet was in contact with the Commission’s legal services to obtain the green light on what “additional information” could be passed on to MEPs.

The sources said although MEPs had asked to see the contents of the OLAF report on a confidential basis, it was not yet sure whether this was permitted as the report’s contents did not only involve Mr Dalli but also other parties investigated and interrogated by OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud agency.

Normally, OLAF does not publish its reports but passes its investigation to national authorities to study their findings and where possible prosecute.

Last week The Times revealed that the Attorney General’s office had studied OLAF’s conclusions and passed the report on to the police, together with its recommendations.

No official details have yet been given by the Attorney General or the police on the state of investigations.