(Adds ministry's reply)
The Home Affairs Minister’s statement in Parliament this morning admitting that he was present for interviews of Security Service personnel was shocking and an unprecedented irregularity, the Nationalist Party said.
In a statement this evening the party said that in a supposedly democratic country, such development was a threat to an individual’s freedoms.
For in no democratic country was a minister directly involved in a country’s Security Service.
The Security Service had massive powers granted to it by law, including the interception of telephone calls and correspondence, with the aim of fighting criminality and for national security.
The Nationalist Party condemned such behaviour strongly and without any reservations and asked if the minister felt he had compromised the independence of the service and if the Prime Minister knew of the minister’s involvement.
It said it would not permit the government to manipulate the Security Service for its own aims to the detriment of the Maltese people’s freedom and privacy.
Minister 'determined and committed' to continue working in country's best interests
In a reply, the ministry said that it was clear from the minister's speech in Parliament this morning that he did not choose or influence the choice of people whose name was submitted to join the Security Service.
The procedure which used to be followed under the previous administration was also followed in this instance which was that the minister had to approve the appointments in writing.
Because of this, the head of the Service felt it would be wise for the minister to be present during the final interviews.
The minister said the PN should confirm or deny how the names of members in the Service in the past used to be imposed through the direct involvement of Nationalist ministers.
On the contrary, the names now were not hand picked by the minister but by the head of the Service according to law.
The PN’s weak attempt to put the ministry in a bad light clearly showed that the party was still anchored in a style and methods of destructive criticism which the people had strongly refuted in the last election.
In spite of this, the minister was determined and committed to continue working in the best interest of the country, the ministry said.