Alternattiva Demokratika expressed concern today over how the head of Mepa enforcement up to 2004 had said he had daily political interference.

AD chairman Arnold Cassola reacted to the remarks, made on TimesTalk on Tuesday, saying it was shocking that architect Stephen Farrugia had daily political interference, with politicians phoning up and 'informal' instructions being given on which enforcement notices to enforce and which to ignore.

It was now the duty of Prime Minister Muscat to show that he meant business by acting vigorously against all illegalities. Anything less than vigorous action would continue to prove that even this government was in the pockets of Malta's 'cowboy' contractors and developers, he said.

Carmel Cacopardo, spokesman on sustainable development, expressed concern over the deletion of a large number of electronic records from MEPA’s webite related to cases of enforcement. "This tampering with official data signifies that the fight against abuse has also to deal with collusion from a small number of MEPA employees. It is indeed unfortunate that MEPA took some time to realise the scale of this abusive action which may have serious repercussions," he said

"This abusive action is the direct result of MEPA’s inertia in tackling past planning abuses," Mr Cacopardo said.