Nationalist Party general secretary Clyde Puli was a guest at the closing session of the Labour general conference on Sunday morning - and One TV carried footage of him apparently nodding off.

But was he really?

"No, obviously not, I was scrolling through SMS's on my phone. Watch the video," Mr Puli told Times of Malta. "As you can see if you look closely, I am moving my hand to send an SMS" he added.

Party representatives are regularly invited to each other's general conferences.

Mr Puli said this was his first time at the Labour conference. It was interesting, he said, although he did not hear anything new. The prime minister, he observed, had focused on changes to the IVF law, because he realised he had a lot of explaining to do.

But the tradition of inviting the rival party representatives was a tradition which should be maintained, he said.

Sunday was a day of contrasts for Mr Puli.

After hours of listening to Labour delegates singing the praises of the government, Mr Puli attended the manifestation for truth and justice in Valletta on Sunday afternoon.