Joseph Muscat rebuts Jason Azzopardi, insists there is no case against him on Montenegro wind farm

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has disputed the fact that there is a case against him regarding the Montenegro wind farm scandal as he disputed the assertion made Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi.

Muscat raised the point in today's parliamentary sitting when he referred to an appeal filed by Azzopardi, who is contesting the Speaker's breach of privilege ruling.

Azzopardi was found guilty of breaching parliamentary privilege over a speech he delivered a couple of weeks ago in which he concluded that one of the reasons why Muscat called an early election in 2017 was because he knew about the plot to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia. The other reason could have been that Muscat feared Caruana Galizia would release damning information about the Montenegro deal.

Azzopardi made the statement after testimony given by a police inspector in the Caruana Galizia public inquiry that murder suspect Yorgen Fenech had told police during interrogation that he knew an early election was on the cards at least seven months before. 

Muscat had raised a breach of privilege complaint and the Speaker ruled in his favour this week. Azzopardi refused to withdraw the claim and is now appealing the ruling. The appeal will take the form of a parliamentary debate and a vote.

If Azzopardi loses the vote, as he is likely to do, the matter will end up in front of the privileges committee where witnesses can be summoned.

In his appeal, Azzopardi included Muscat as one of the people who was involved in the Montenegro scandal

“I will not accept the assertation that I was involved in the Montenegro case,” Muscat said in parliament.

The Speaker interjected, saying that the substance of the motion will be debated in parliament when it is put on the agenda and the former prime minister will be able to clarify and rebut assertions at that point in time.

READ ALSO: Joseph Muscat accuses Jason Azzopardi of lying over claims he knew of Caruana Galizia murder plot