The government said today that it would be receiving three separate opinions on the granting of the permit for filming at Dwejra and the resultant dumping of sand in the area by a contractor, who did not follow permit conditions.

The Secretariat for Tourism and Culture said a report is due next week on the processing of applications for permits for filming in areas considered to be sensitive. The government had commissioned Prof Kevin Aquilina and Dr Simone Borg as independent legal experts to draw up the report.

The government will also await a report by the Mepa audit-officer before deciding what changes are needed to the permit processing process, the secretariat said.

Meanwhile, Mepa has engaged independent experts led by Dr Louis Cassar to establish what damage may have been caused at Dwejra. The conclusions of that report will guide the government and Mepa on what action to take against the permit holder or the contractor.