Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat accused Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil of a “knee-jerk reaction” in filing the motion, adding that the Opposition was undermining its credibility with its double standards.

Speaking before Dr Busuttil last night, Dr Muscat denied that he had tried to gag the Opposition when he raised the breach of privilege complaint against Dr Busuttil.

The Opposition Leader had claimed political interference in the police handling of the Dalli case, he recalled.

What the Government had done was to deny the claim and insist that Dr Busuttil substantiate his allegation.

In 1992, then Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami had raised a breach of privilege complaint over a statement that had actually been made outside the House, Dr Muscat recalled.

Did (Nationalist MP) Beppe Fenech Adami feel that the Opposition was being gagged at the time?

Since when had raising a breach of privilege complaint amount to gagging anyone, Dr Muscat asked.

The PN was criticising the Government for appointing Mr Dalli as a consultant. But the Opposition had congratulated Mr Dalli after the new police commissioner had said there was no case against him.

Since when has raising a breach of privilege complaint amount to gagging anyone?

Once Dr Busuttil was feeling so strongly about some matters, why had he not sued Mr Dalli for claiming that the former government put pressure for him to be arraigned?

Replying to comments made earlier by Nationalist MPs, Dr Muscat said that while the Government was accused of attempting to implement a pushback policy for immigration, the former government actually sent illegal immigrants back to Eritrea and some were then tortured and killed.

The present Government was also criticised for appointing Sai Mizzi as an envoy without a call for applications. But similarly, Dr Busuttil himself was appointed head of MIC without a call for applications.

The envoy was being paid as much as other ambassadors, and as much as Richard Cachia Caruana was paid.

Dr Busuttil himself used to be paid double pay scale one of the civil service and remained a consultant at the Foreign Ministry for €15,000 for 40 hours a week.

The Opposition was undermining its credibility with its double standards.

There had been the case of the son of a very prominent person in the PN, whom he respected, who, while his father held an important post, served as consultant to a government entity.

This person was not criticised in the past because the PL had respected his abilities.

But the current Leader of the Opposition needed to be careful that his colleagues and he were not judged by his own yardstick.

This Opposition motion was a knee-jerk reaction by the Leader of the Opposition, and the Government would vote against it, Dr Muscat said.