Speaker blames 'disorderly' committee meeting for walkout

The Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia said in parliament that he will be reaching out to the Government and the Opposition to resume a Standards Committee meeting which ended abruptly on Tuesday.

Rosianne Cutajar’s ethics breach took a clamorous twist on Tuesday after Speaker Anglu Farrugia recommended that parliament’s Standards Committee further the investigation.

The Speaker’s decision caught government MPs Edward Zammit Lewis and Glenn Bedingfield on the back foot after the Opposition members agreed with the renewed investigation.

This means that the committee will be able to summon witnesses and further the investigation carried out by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler.

In a declaration, Farrugia said the meeting was stopped after he tried reaching an agreement on who would be testifying, but instead MPs from both sides of the House resorted to shout at each other.

“Calls for order were ignored,” he said.

He also expressed his regret at the sitting being disrupted, after the Opposition had not sought a resumption, instead opting for a quorum.