The inquiry into the shooting incident involving Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia's driver had not reassured people tha the truth had emerged, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said.
The inquiry, published yesterday, questioned the statements made to the board by the minister, but absolved him of involvement in the cover-up.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has asked for Dr Mallia’s resignation but the minister has not yet stepped down. A new Home Affairs and National Security Minister, Carmelo Abela, is, however, expected to be appointed at 2pm.
Addressing a news conference, Dr Busuttil noted that although Dr Mallia had not yet resigned, a new minister was being appointed in his stead. Could this mean that the country would have two Home Affairs Ministers at the same time, he asked.
Dr Busuttil said he did not feel that the inquiry got to the truth of what happened after the shooting incident and he lamented that the three retired judges tasked with putting it together had not even sent for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat or his assistant Keith Schembri.
The Opposition leader also criticised the fact that the annexes to the inquiry - which contained vital testimony - had not been published along with the rest of the report.
He said that had it not been for the Opposition and the independent media the truth as it was known today would not have been uncovered.
Dr Busuttil said it was now clear that Dr Muscat had lost his authority and control over his Cabinet. He failed his first test and showed weakness by failing to take a decision he was duty-bound to take. Nowhere in the world did a Prime Minister leave it up to a minister to decide whether or not to resign.
Therefore, how could the Prime Minister be trusted to take other delicate decisions, the Opposition leader said.
Dr Busuttil also pointed out that, according to the inquiry report, the Prime Minister replied to an e-mail from Kurt Farrugia “before he went to sleep”, telling him to verify the situation with the Commissioner.
“How could the Prime Minister go to sleep when faced with such a situation? Is he a fit for purpose Prime Minister,” Dr Busuttil said.
The Opposition leader also said that so much power should not be concentrated in one ministry and he appealed to the Prime Minister to divide responsibilities that were assigned to Dr Mallia among other ministers.
The Opposition leader also referred to Kurt Farrugia, who had written the government statement claiming that warning shots had been fired by the minister's driver, Paul Sheehan, into the air after a car allegedly struck the ministerial car's wing mirror.
“In the strangest of manners, the inquiry exonerated Mr Farrugia and concluded that Dr Mallia should shoulder political responsibility because the statement was incorrect.”
Dr Busuttil said it made absolutely no sense that the person who wrote the statement was absolved of all responsibility.
This, he said, was intended to defend the Prime Minister although there was no doubt that both Dr Muscat and Mr Farrugia were involved in what happened.
The Opposition leader also criticised the fact that former acting police commissioner Ray Zammit - who was criticised by the inquiry for gross negligence - has been allowed to continue as assistant commissioner under new police chief Michael Cassar, who is the fourth occupant of this post in just 20 months.
However, Dr Busuttil failed to attach any criticism to Dr Mallia's assistant, Silvio Scerri, even though he was also criticised in the inquiry.
PL STATEMENT
In a statement, the Labour Party said that Dr Busuttil was continuing with his attack on the three retired judges who were appointed to hold an inquiry, accusing them of hiding the truth.
This was an unprecedented attack , the PL said. It also noted that in their report, the board members noted that the comments he (Dr Busuttil) had passed on the inquiry, were defamatory and constituted political pressure.