The Speaker of the House of Representatives yesterday rejected a point of order raised last week by opposition MPs Joe Mizzi and Leo Brincat, who had alleged that the Prime Minister had misled the House on November 11 when he said that no instructions had been issued by Mepa not to allow files to go to the authority's auditor.

Mr Brincat had presented a copy of a letter dating back to 2004 whereby Mepa Director of Planning Chris Borg, seemingly on his own personal initiative, had instructed senior officials that any request to the audit office had to be channelled through the executive committee.

In his ruling on the alleged point of order, Mr Speaker Louis Galea said that according to the House standing orders his office could regulate parliamentary questions laid, but not the answers to them. Not even the UK House of Commons did this.

Erskine May Parliamentary Practice, the point of reference to such questions, held that any untrue answer given to a parliamentary question or any other misleading statement could be held as a matter of grave contempt.

The House standing orders held that a claim of breach of privilege could be brought forward only by means of a motion: something that neither Mr Mizzi nor Mr Brincat had done. This would have bound the Speaker to decide if prima facie there indeed existed such breach of privilege.