Now that the cat is out of the bag, thanks to the PN general secretary's e-mail to ministers' customer care officials and, unwittingly, to the Labour Party's general secretary, can I, as a Maltese citizen, be officially assured by the government that my personal data on any requests or claims I may make at any government department are protected? I would like to be assured that information on any such claims and requests will not end up at the PN headquarters in Pietà, for example.

I expect political parties to have access to information which is in the public domain, such as the electoral register, but I can never accept that personal details given in confidence to a government department end up in data files of a political party as so shamelessly requested by PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier .

A straightforward assurance, free of legal jargon, would be appreciated.