Labour Party deputy leader Toni Abela has acted as a legal consultant to the Transport Ministry for two years running, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The contract, worth €26,000 a year, was initially awarded for a period of a year two weeks after Labour swept to power in March 2013.

Last year it was extended by another 12 months by Transport Minister Joe Mizzi, though it is unclear whether Dr Abela is still engaged.

Dr Abela’s contracts, which have so far earned him €52,000, were awarded through a direct order.

When contacted, the Labour deputy leader said: “To my knowledge the matter has already been the subject of a parliamentary question.”

In April 2013, Dr Abela also acted as a legal consultant to the Social Solidarity Ministry through a yearly contract worth €20,650.

Since March 2013, Dr Abela has also been engaged as personal adviser to the Prime Minister and regularly attends Cabinet meetings.

The matter has already been the subject of a parliamentary question

He does not receive payment for this, but his personal phone and internet bills are covered by the Office of the Prime Minister.

In September 2014, Dr Abela was also appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. He told the Times of Malta that he had forfeited the remuneration of some €200 every three months which came with the appointment.

Asked yesterday on whether he felt it was appropriate for the deputy leader of the party in government to benefit from direct orders from ministries, Dr Abela referred the Times of Malta to procurement regulations “to see for yourself whether there is anything amiss”.

He also said that the contracts he had been awarded paled in comparison to those handed out under the previous administration.

“By the same measure, a good number of high ranking PN officials would not have been eligible to act as consultants, who were engaged in [a similar] manner or board members when their party was in government,” Dr Abela said.