Official's meeting with wrongly accused man - PN 'shocked' by Muscat's reaction

Updated, Adds PN, PL reactions - Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted this morning that the government had a duty to hear what the victim of a mistaken arraignment had to say. He was replying to questions of how the Chief of Staff at the Home Affairs Ministry last week discussed the matter with the victim, Daryl Luke Borg, even though the case is being investigated by the Police Board. In a reaction the Nationalist Party said it was shocking that the prime minister saw nothing wrong with a senior ministry official meeting the main witness in a supposedly independent investigation. Asked whether Mr Scerri’s actions were unethical, Dr Muscat said that Mr Scerri had received a request to hear Mr Borg’s version and that was what he did. He said that it was immaterial whether Mr Borg was accompanied by ‘Iz-Zambi’ as he was a person whom he trusted. "The victim could take whoever he wished with him to the meeting," Dr Muscat said. Mr Attard served time for the attempted murder of Richard Cachia Caruana. Borg was mistakenly accused of committing a hold-up in Birkirkara. He was held in remand until another man was arraigned and owned up. The shadow minister for home affairs, Jason...