Updated 9.49pm - Added George Pullicino tweet

A story concerning Gozo whistleblower Joseph Cauchi was a fabrication and the Education Ministry would be issuing a denial in due course, minister Evarist Bartolo told parliament this evening. 

The story, which appeared in yesterday's The Sunday Times of Malta, alleged that Mr Cauchi had asked Mr Bartolo to reinstate a Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools supervisor relieved of his duties following suspicions of corruption, and that he had subsequently won several FTS contracts. 

Mr Bartolo insisted that he "never protected anybody and would not do so now." He was answering a question by Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil, who asked whether it was true that Mr Cauchi had since been granted government contracts worth €500,000.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici told Dr Busuttil that immunity to whistleblowers was not granted by the government but rather by the Attorney General and a Superior Court judge. “These are autonomous people that you are trying to undermine!” he said.

In a tweet, PN MP George Pullicino suggested Mr Bartolo might want to hold off issuing the denial. 

"Minister Bartolo," Dr Pullicino wrote, "pls check if you received an email on your hotmail account from the Gozitan whistleblower between 12-19 May 2016."

Early in this administration, Mr Cauchi was granted whistleblower status for providing evidence of alleged wrongdoing by the husband of former Gozo Minister Giovanni Debono. The case is still in court.