Claudette Abela Baldacchino will not seek immunity

Labour MEP Claudette Abela Baldacchino said today she is determined to prove her innocence through the natural course of justice. She said in a statement that she submitted her nomination for the casual election out of loyalty to constituents who voted for her in 2009, well before the fraud allegations against her were made. Ms Abela Baldacchino, a member of the Prime Minister’s secretariat, is facing charges of defrauding the European Commission in travel expenses. She was arraigned last year together with a number of former local councillors. An OLAF investigation concluded that the councillors (Labour and Nationalist) claimed higher travel fares to Brussels than they paid and pocketed the difference. The flights cost them €599 when they allegedly paid €466. The councillors pleaded not guilty. "I will not seek immunity, never even thought about it and I declare that I will renounce it. "I am determined to prove my innocence through the natural course of justice," she said.