Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli was on the verge of boycotting the MPs swearing-in ceremony earlier this month after she was told she could not get her four-year-old child as a guest.

Speaking in Parliament this evening, Ms Farrugia Portelli said that MPs were asked to submit three names of guests they wanted at the ceremony. Her list, she said, included her daughter’s name.

But she was told that she was not allowed to bring her daughter.

Ms Farrugia Portelli pointed out that she was faced with a problem of having to see where to keep her daughter and this was a problem faced by many other people, who would be more involved in public life if there were the necessary support structures in place.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.