Updated Monday 12.40 pm - Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi said today he had been given a satisfactory explanation by the police after he reported having been tailed by two cars while driving on Saturday.
"With reference to my report to the police about a car shadowing mine last Saturday, the police have called in the person concerned and they gave me a satisfactory explanation," Dr Azzopardi said in a Facebook post, while thanking the inspectors concerned.
He did not reveal the identity of the people he claimed were pursuing him.
On Saturday, Dr Azzopardi said he had been tailed by two suspicious cars earlier in the day.
Contacted after posting a tweet in which he earlier pointed fingers at the Malta Security Services, the lawyer had said he had enough reason to believe he was being followed when he was meant to have a meeting with a client in Qrendi.
Around 12.15pm, Dr Azzopardi, a lawyer for the family of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, said he realised there was a white car in pursuit, with another grey vehicle at a distance.
At one point he stopped his vehicle close to the St Matthew chapel to make a phonecall when the car behind him stopped abruptly just feet behind his.
"I could not identify the driver who put his head down - I know he had salt and pepper hair," he told Times of Malta.
The MP's suspicions were confirmed when he restarted his car to drive off.
"When I accelerated, it accelerated. When I slowed down, it did the same," he said, adding that he had a witness to prove his claim.
I’ve been contacted by Head MSS who assured me that no MSS cars were ever involved in tailing me. I take his word & thk him. Police report will be filed. I’ll not be cowered. @mcaruanagalizia @ACaruanagalizia @ActivistsMalta
— Jason Azzopardi (@AzzopardiJason) December 9, 2017
After about 600 metres, Dr Azzopardi said he stopped his car, as the driver in pursuit slowed down, took a good look at him, before driving off towards Żurrieq.
He claimed the same car had earlier been parked in front of his client's place.
"That means this person knew where I was going, probably because my phone was being intercepted," he said, prompting Dr Azzopardi to post a tweet addressed to the Malta Security Services: "you will not intimidate me".
But later in the day, the head of the MSS called Dr Azzopardi to assure him that the car did not belong to any of his team. The MP retracted his original tweet.
"I can only take his word for it, but if that's the case it means my phone is being illegally intercepted," he said.
Dr Azzopardi said he had filed a police report and was also informing the inspector in charge of the Caruana Galizia assassination probe about the matter.
In a statement on Saturday evening, the government reiterated that the MSS was not following Dr Azzopardi, and said it regrets "such misinformation" by a member of parliament.