Standards commissioner throws out complaint on Jean Paul Sofia inquiry leaks

Updated at 6:15pm with PN statement

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard did not breach ethics when referring to information on an ongoing magisterial inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia.

The Commissioner of Standards in Public Life dismissed a complaint by Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina claiming Abela and Attard had confidential information on the inquiry which could only be known by the Attorney General.

Aquilina had said that Abela and Attard knew of the magistrate’s extension notice on the magisterial inquiry, and had referred to this request during a press conference.

This information, according to Aquilina, was confidential and should not have been passed on to Abela and Attard.

However, the standards commissioner ruled that the Attorney General has the discretion to pass on copies of the proces-verbal. In his report, the commissioner said it would not be correct to say that Abela and Attard acquired information they had no right to receive.

“Passing on information about the progress of a magisterial inquiry – that it is ongoing, has been concluded, or that its term has been extended – does not amount to revealing the contents of the process-verbal or documents and testimonies collected throughout,” the report says.

The commissioner determined that Abela and Attard are not guilty of any allegations brought up by Aquilina in his complaint.

READ ALSO: PN wants standards investigation into how Abela, Attard knew of Sofia magisterial inquiry extension

In a statement, the Labour Party said an "extremist branch" of the Nationalist Party brought this complaint against Abela and Attard "because they had carried out their duties".

"This is the behaviour of a vengeful, fake-news Opposition that only wants to try scoring political points," the party said. "The Opposition is blinded by partisan politics and only intends to spread unfounded accusations."

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party insisted that the standards commissioner still refuted Abela because he had said mistakenly that the magistrate requested an extension to complete her report, when in fact, magistrates can take as long as needed and do not need to make such a request.

"The Nationalist Part would like to remind people that Robert Abela spent weeks attacking the magistrate leading the inquiry into the tragic death of young Jean Paul Sofia," the party said.

The party said Abela should issue a public apology to the magistrate who conducted the inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia.