PN attacks Muscat for defending Franco Mercieca

The Nationalist Party this morning criticised the prime minister after he criticised the media in the controversy over private practice by Parliamentary Secretaryu Franco Mercieca. The Times of Malta revealed this morning that Mr Mercieca will no longer conduct private eye operations, following an investigation by The Sunday Times of Malta which found he was earning €3,600 in a morning in breach of the Code of Ethics. The issue was discussed between Mr Mercieca and the prime minister on Tuesday. Mr Mercieca will continue to work free of charge at Mater Dei. Replying to questions this morning, Dr Muscat confirmed that to avoid misinterpretation, Mr Mercieca agreed to immediately stop all his interventions even if this meant that patients would suffer. This, Dr Muscat said, was a wise decision since there were people who, in spite of the waiver, tried to instrumentalise the situation. There was at least one patient who would have to go abroad because he was not referred to Mr Mercieca. The Prime Minister noted that a former minister, who he refused to name, had a consultancy contract with a government company in his own name. Dr Muscat says Mr Mercieca was unfairly instrumentalised...