Updated: Ex-Commissioner warned Silvio Zammit in August against harming his reputation

John Dalli has revealed that last August he wrote to Silvio Zammit, warning him in a judicial letter that he would hold him responsible if he harmed his reputation. The former European Commissioner told The Times that he wrote to Mr Zammit as soon as he heard certain allegations from OLAF, which was investigating trading in influence. Mr Dalli said that Mr Zammit wrote back, but he gave no further details. When contacted, Mr Zammit refused to comment. Mr Dalli resigned over the case on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Mr Dalli yesterday emphatically denied any knowledge of the cash-for-influence request made by Mr Zammit, his former canvasser to a Swedish tobacco company. In a second interview with New Europe magazine in five days, Mr Dalli insisted he was not corrupt. “Absolutely not,” he responded when asked whether he had any knowledge that a Maltese businessman was asking for money to alter EU tobacco legislation. He gave the same answer when asked whether he was “bribable”. Mr Dalli resigned as commissioner on Tuesday after an investigation by the EU’s anti-fraud unit, OLAF, found he was aware that a Maltese businessman was using his contacts with the EU Commissioner to trade in influence...