Labour calls on opposition to take action on Tonio Fenech and Beppe Fenech Adami

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Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis has accused Simon Busuttil of double standards in his handling of cases of alleged impropriety by individuals close to the PN.

Zammit Lewis said that the Labour Party was concerned by the damage being done to Malta's reputation by the current investigations into two companies with ties to PN MPs.

"We are not interested in going into the merits of the case however on a political level we are very concerned about the effect this is having on Malta's reputation," he said.

Zammit Lewis added that is was worrying that authorities in two foreign countries were investigating these two companies.

Also addressing the press conference at Labour’s HQ, government backbencher Luciano Busuttil said that the Labour Party did not wish to comment on the investigations.

Referring to a story published on Sunday by MaltaToday he said that it was worrying that people had invested money in a fund which is now under investigation and which also has ties to Malta's former finance minister Tonio Fenech.

Busuttil said that the opposition leader was being inconsistent in defending both MPs given that he is always quick to demand action from both the government and the Labour Party.

Zammit Lewis added that the two cases involved serious issues, namely the defrauding of pensioners, some of the most vulnerable people in society, and drug trafficking, a menace to society that has ruined many lives.

Zammit Lewis also question a statement issued on Sunday by the PN. He said he could not understand why the PN was defending a private company rather than allowing due process to take place arguing that the statement is irrelevant on a political level and should never have been issues by the PN

The tourism minister said that Simon Busuttil was showing himself to be incapable of taking action.

"Simon Busuttil has shown himself to be the paladin of double standards," he said.

He added that on a political level, the Labour Party could not allow these things to happen and demanded that the opposition take action on these serious allegations.

Asked about why the Labour Party had not taken action when it came to Konrad Mizzi's involvement in the Panama Papers, the minister said that Mizzi had removed from his ministerial roles and was now a minister within the OPM. He added that a due diligence was currently ongoing and the results would be published in due course.