The US Embassy has condemned the “unauthorised disclosures” by Wikileaks and said it was taking “very aggressive action” to ensure its private communications remain private.

It was reacting to a stream of confidential cables sent by the US Embassy in Malta, which made headlines in recent days.

Published by the whistleblower site, they showed the embassy’s supposed lobbying of both the government and the opposition to support closer cooperation with Nato, as well as a brief analysis by US officials of Malta’s Cabinet soon after being appointed in 2008, including alleged comments by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi about the “limited talent pool” from which to select ministers.

“Field reporting is candid, preliminary and often incomplete,” embassy chargé d’affaires Richard Mills emphasised.

“The reporting does not express policy and may only express the opinion of the reporting officer,” he said, regretting the release of the “alleged” embassy cables also on behalf of his colleagues.

“As a long-standing rule, we do not comment on classified material but our government does engage in the drafting of cables as an efficient way for the field to share information with Washington and for Washington to respond,” Mr Mills explained.

The embassy pointed out that it worked closely with the government on a variety of fronts, such as Customs inspection to detect illicit drugs and weapons of mass destruction, and strengthening the search and rescue capability of the AFM, which improves the security of Malta and the region. “These irresponsible leaks may jeopardise our mutual security and the security of others,” Mr Mills insisted.

“Releasing the names of individuals cited in conversations that took place in confidence potentially puts careers at risk,” he said, pointing out that “it is reprehensible” for an individual or organisation to attempt to gain notoriety at the expense of engagement between nations.

“Global diplomacy suffers,” Mr Mills said.

Both the Prime Minister and former US Ambassador Douglas Kmiec have reacted to the leaked confidential cables, with Dr Gonzi deploring the spin by “certain elements within the media” of their contents and Prof. Kmiec describing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as “the architect of the end of candour and diplomacy” and not a hero of transparency.