Gozo Minister Anton Refalo has described himself as the “sacrificial lamb” in the controversy which saw an empty Gozo ferry recalled to port to pick up passengers, including himself.

In a doorstep interview just as he emerged from a Cabinet meeting at Castille, Dr Refalo said he had no intention of resigning as he had done nothing wrong.

Video: Mark Zammit Cordina

Following the incident last week, Gozo Channel issued a statement saying the vessel had been ordered back to Ċirkewwa by duty manager Teddie Pace after he received a call from a passenger, who identified himself as the Gozo Minister. Gozo Channel said it was company policy that waiting passengers embark even if the vessel happens to be on its last journey before docking.

However, Dr Refalo yesterday said he had never spoken to the duty manager, although he tried to.  At the same time, Dr Refalo said he spoke to someone, who he thought was Mr Pace.

See the comments on video above. Full text in English on the Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.