PBS head of news Reno Bugeja has rejected PN accusations that it was unfair in its stories on the engagement of a minister’s wife as an envoy of Malta Enterprise.

Mr Bugeja said PBS had reported statements on the case on Saturday and Sunday as part of its coverage of the PN mass meeting.

Mr Bugeja said that in the recent past, there had been several cases where ministers’ relatives were engaged by the government or government entities, and PBS never delved into those stories, other then to report political comments made about them. The station, therefore, had been consistent in its coverage.

PBS had clear rules of what stories to follow. As a result, over the past few weeks it had not followed stories on direct orders awarded before the general election or payments to consultants made by the previous government, even though those stories were reported by other media.

One could not, therefore, say that PBS had not followed a story which might embarrass the government when, by the same yardstick, it had not followed stories which might embarrass the opposition.

Mr Bugeja said a PN press conference on the appointment of the minister’s wife was reported prominently, having been the fifth item on the bulletin.