Education Minister Evarist Bartolo has said he will be making correspondence between himself and former Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools chief Philip Rizzo public.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Bartolo quoted emails and SMS texts sent between himself and Mr Rizzo, who has accused the minister of sitting idle when faced with corruption allegations concerning a former canvasser he had employed in a position of trust.
Saying he wanted justice to take its course and that he would not be judge and jury of any accused, the minister insisted that he had made it clear in the correspondence that nobody committing any wrongdoing could count on his protection.
WATCH: PN says Bartolo was 'caught in a lie'
Mr Bartolo read out emails in which he told Mr Rizzo that he would be awaiting a "smoking gun" before taking action against Edward Caruana, the former canvasser named in the corruption allegations.
Answering a barrage of questions from PN members, Mr Bartolo told parliament that the Opposition had intentionally chosen which parts of his ministerial statement to quote.
He said that the Opposition had failed to note that Mr Rizzo had written on September 10 that he [the minister] would be judged on what he was doing now after he had in hand tangible proof. Rizzo wrote: “Nobody thinks you were involved then, but now your duty is clear”.
Mr Bartolo said he wanted justice to take its course as he would not be judge and jury of any accused.
He said that in the case of Gozo, the ministry had told contractor Giovann Vella to go to the police with what he had told them - that Edward Caruana had asked him for €30,000 to process cheques Vella was owed. The minister denied Vella was taken to court because he had divulged the information. The case was simply a case of slander, he said.
Mr Bartolo said that he had agreed with all the actions Mr Rizzo wanted to take and never told him to hide things under the carpet or protect anybody.
He said that the issue was not whether action would be taken, but rather when, that he had asked auditor Paul Bonello and that he had taken steps on August 23 with "strong evidence" in hand.
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil was vociferous in calling on Mr Bartolo to shoulder political responsibility, saying the scandal was "massive" and could not be ignored.
He noted that the Opposition had not been given any forewarning of the ministerial statement, and went on to wonder why the minister had not found it strange that a person of trust of his would personally deliver cheques for services.
PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said the allegations were further confirmation of the "institutionalised corruption" within the government.