Simon Busuttil should use his speech in parliament tonight to address claims that that PN deputy leader Mario de Marco had accepted works valued at €34,000 on a property of his, PL MPs Edward Zammit Lewis and Deborah Schembri said today.  

"He was a minister at the time. Accepting the works would go against the ministerial code of ethics," Dr Schembri said.

A story published yesterday claimed that Dr de Marco had had works done on his property for free by a contractor embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal. Dr De Marco only paid for the works last month, after the Panama affair had erupted. 

The PN deputy leader has said that the company, Redmap Construction, had insisted on issuing an invoice only when works were completed. The works have now been paid for in full. 

Dr Schembri cast doubt on Dr de Marco's timing. Was it a coincidence, she asked, that he had only paid for the works after revelations concerning the former CEO of Allied Newspapers, Adrian Hillman, had been published?

Mr Hillman resigned last month following claims of secret payments he had received for purchases by the Allied Group from Kasco, a company owned by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri. He has denied the allegations.

Dr de Marco is a member in the Strickland Foundation, which is the major shareholder in Allied Newspapers (ANL), publishers of the Times of Malta.

Redmap Construction has carried out works at Allied's Mriehel property and was a partner in a company that bought Canberra House in Valletta from ANL.

Asked why Dr Busuttil should act on allegations when his counterpart, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had clearly said that he acted on facts rather than hearsay, Tourism Minister Dr Zammit Lewis argued that there was a clear difference. 

The Prime Minister had ordered an audit following the Panama Papers revelations, and was "listening to public sentiment", Dr Zammit argued.