PM’s decision on Sheehan shooting case expected imminently

The Prime Minister is expected to take a decision on the Sheehan shooting case imminently as the independent inquiry tasked with uncovering the facts will be presenting its report tomorrow.

The independent inquiry’s report, led by the three retired judges Albert J Magri, Philip Sciberras and JD Camilleri, will be in Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s hands tomorrow and “decisions” are set to follow.

“I will receive the report tomorrow; I will read it, I will publish it and I will take the decisions that need to be taken,” Muscat told Labour supporters gathered in Marsa.

The independent inquiry was appointed by Muscat after the Opposition cried foul over alleged attempts by the government to cover up the shooting incident involving the Home Affairs Minister’s driver.

On Friday evening the Opposition went a step further in publishing transcripts of recordings alleging that the Office of the Prime Minister had been informed that shots were fired but agreed that the original ministerial statement should read “warning shots”.

Unadulterated recordings published today however revealed that the Acting Police Commissioner told OPM spokesman Kurt Farrugia that “warning shots were fired”. The original recordings also show that Ray Zammit may have not faithfully relayed the information given to him by the same Sheehan to the OPM.

“Simon Busuttil must shoulder responsibility for this lie. Yesterday he told me ‘to say the truth and nothing but the truth’ while he himself was lying. I will not comment on the recordings released today because I don’t want to prejudice the inquiry. But Busuttil now can’t hide behind his media. What interest did he have in removing parts of the recordings?” Muscat said.

Reiterating that he won’t shy away from taking “any difficult decisions that must be taken”, Muscat warned that he won’t allow any one “to play around with the honesty and integrity by which this movement was created”.

In his opening address, Muscat said the past couples of weeks had been “difficult” for the government “but we will come out stronger than ever because we are on the side of the truth”.

“We know that the people expect better from us and we are a government that listens, understands, we see and we act. The people know that, like I did in the past, I will be the first one to take decisions.”

During his speech, Muscat also referred to the inquiry pertaining to the death of immigrant Mamadou Kamara who died in the summer of 2012. The findings of an independent inquiry into the running of the Detention Services have not yet been made public, two years after the Office of the Prime Minister had ordered the inquiry in 2012.

Muscat said that the previous administration never published the inquiry “and for some reason, the truth of what happened to the man who died at the hands of detention services officers was kept under wraps. Why? Because he was a foreigner?”

He also said that the government would publish the report.

Speaking earlier during the activity, deputy prime minister Louis Grech said the Prime Minister could have easily taken an immediate decision – and sack Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia – in a reaction that would have been based populist grounds.

“The PM had two paths ahead of him: either make that immediate decision or else seek the truth and the facts and act upon it. He chose the latter and I know that he will not shy away from taking the difficult decisions that need to be taken,” Grech said.