An investigation into how a circular announcing the suspension of stipends for a number of students was issued has now been concluded, Education minister Evarist Bartolo said this evening.

Replying to parliamentary questions by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil and education spokesman Joe Cassar, the minister also said he would be filing a libel suit against the PN media which had said he had ordered the publication of the circular and then blamed others for it. That, he insisted, was not true.

In Parliament this evening, Mr Bartolo challenged Dr Busuttil to repeat that he had personally ordered the removal of stipends for sixth form “O” level students so that he could sue him for slander.

The minister insisted that the there was no conflict of interest in spite of the fact that a ministry consultant had sat on the investigation board.

He called on the Opposition MPs to read the investigation report, which he would be handing over to Opposition education spokesman Joe Cassar.