Labour Party MEP Joseph Cuschieri had a sudden change of heart yesterday and submitted his nomination to contest the European Parliament elections.

His decision came just three days after he announced on television that he would not be contesting because some candidates were being pushed by the party, which had evidently already chosen which of them it wanted up in Brussels.

Replying to journalists’ questions outside the Electoral Commission’s office yesterday evening, Mr Cuschieri would only say that the party came “first and foremost” and that he would be working hard for another Labour victory.

He refused to say what had led to his u-turn and neither whether it was the party administration that had urged him to change his mind. He said he would clarify the developments through a statement today.