The government yesterday objected to a request by opposition MP Carmelo Abela for a remark made by Speaker Michael Frendo to be inserted into the already-approved minutes of the sitting of Wednesday, February 2.

Just after the end of question time, Mr Abela commented that the Speaker’s words at the start of Wednesday’s sitting that “I cannot ask you to put your question because there is nobody to put it to” should be inserted into the minutes. He asked for leave of House for this to be done.

Leader of the House Tonio Borg said the minutes had already been approved at the start of the sitting. Mr Abela, a former Deputy Speaker, said it was not the first time both sides of the House had allowed going back over something the House had already done, such as a re-committal of a clause in a Bill.

Mr Abela said that if the government side continued to object, the opposition would start objecting to everything the government wanted to go back on.

When Dr Borg again said the minutes could not be reopened, and that everything that had gone on in the House on Wednesday had been recorded anyway, opposition deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia said the opposition wanted it on record that the government side was objecting to Mr Abela’s request.

Deputy Speaker Ċensu Galea, chairing yesterday’s sitting, drew Mr Abela’s attention to the fact that the minutes were a brief account of what had been done in a sitting. Mr Abela retorted that in this case the minutes were super-brief.

Dr Borg confirmed that the government side was objecting to Mr Abela’s request.