A reform of parliamentary standing orders should give citizens who are mentioned in Parliament the right to clear their name, Speaker Angelo Farrugia said today.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Office of the Ombudsman, Dr Farrugia said the “civilian right to remedy”, would help in cases where MPs, protected through their parliamentary privilege, harmed a person or company’s reputation or caused damages.

Dr Farrugia said the principle of parliamentary privilege should remain intact but there should be a way for citizens to defend themselves.

This could happen by such people being given the opportunity to petition the Speaker to investigate the case. The Speaker would then have three options: to call for the MP’s comments to be withdrawn, explain with additional information to balance out the argument, or the sanctioning of an MP who refuses to clarify or withdraw their remarks.

Asked why no legal remedy had been afforded to ordinary citizens, Dr Farrugia said: “This will be remedy which gives citizens a much stronger position than what existed before.”

He added that the breach of privilege regulations meant that if comments were not within the confines of parliamentary privilege, civilians could seek legal recourse.

Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino, said that his office worked as the conscience of public administration, defending citizens and ensuring good public sector governance. He presented the Speaker with a copy of The State’s Duty to Inform, a publication on the State’s obligation to transparency.

Asked whether it was right that Simon Busuttil's driver was mentioned in the current ongoing controversy, Dr Farrugia said he had made it a point not to mention him.