Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando this afternoon described as "incorrect, misleading and untrue" comments made earlier today by George Micallef, consultant to the Malta Tourism Authority on the Mistra development project. Micallef had earlier been a consultant on the project.

In his statement, the Nationalist MP said:

"I am unaware of what prompted Mr. Micallef to issue such a statement at this particular time whilst Police investigations are still under way.

"In view of such investigations, as Mr. Micallef may be well aware, I am unable to fully reply in detail about the incorrect, misleading and untrue comments made by him in my regard, and brought to the attention of the public at this stage - which stage has been described by the media as the final stage of the investigations in which the Police authorities are expected to refer the matter to the Attorney General. I am also unaware as to what or who prompted Mr. Micallef to adopt a tactic which dictates that in order to defend and seek to justify his own involvement in this matter he has to attack me personally.

I will however, at this stage, limit myself to confirming, in clear and unequivocal terms, that:-

I have not at any stage exercised or attempted to exercise any undue pressure on any public official to do anything short of his duty or to act in any way contrary to his convictions, conscience or responsibility.

I do not have any direct or indirect involvement or participation in the ownership, operation or management of the then-proposed project referred to as Spin Valley.

I had been advised by the tenant leasing out my property (situated in the immediate vicinity of the Santa Rosa restaurant, entertainment hall and recording studio complex) that he would seek to obtain a permit by the competent authorities for the formation and operation therefrom of an open-air entertainment establishment. Whilst I was aware at the time that this was being deemed as a limited-scale development, I have now confirmed that this had in fact been planned to accommodate a total of about four hundred patrons (as opposed to the four to eight thousand indicated by the then Leader of the Opposition and the Malta Labour Party media)

As previously publicly stated, beyond this I was not aware of the details of the project and, in fact, the first time I saw the plans and details of the full development application submitted was when I was shown these at the Police Headquarters. I also do not know nor had I ever met the actual applicant - who was not the same person with whom I had signed the rent agreement.

I confirm what I have consistently stated to journalists who have contacted me in these days in which I am being subjected to intense media pressure in order to give full details of my involvement in this case, namely that:-

I have fully cooperated with the investigating officers, replied to all their questions and have given them a full detailed statement; and

I am more than fully prepared to make a public statement of my entire involvement in this matter and to answer to the questions that have been put to me, as soon as the investigation and its outcome are concluded.

At that point I shall be able to freely state all details of this case as are known to me. In doing so I shall definitely not wilfully seek to explain or justify my actions by pointing fingers at others."