[WATCH] Labour distances itself from Stagno Navarra: 'He is acting on his own initiative'

Labour Party President Alex Sciberras has distanced the party from the recent antics of former PL TV host Karl Stagno Navarra, insisting he is "acting on his own initiative".

Sciberras was fielding journalists' questions alongside PL CEO Leonid McKay following a press conference on Tuesday. Sciberras stressed that hate has no place in politics.

Stagno Navarra recently made headlines after he approached former PN MP Jason Azzopardi outside his Sliema apartment and hounded him over his now-revoked reserved parking space. The parking space had been allotted to Azzopardi after the police requested it for security purposes. The confrontation followed videos that Stagno Navarra uploaded to Facebook of Azzopardi's car with number plate in full view.

READ ALSO: Robert Abela suggests Jason Azzopardi given 'special treatment' over reserved parking

MaltaToday asked Sciberras and McKay whether Stagno Navarra’s actions were representative of the PL.

Sciberras first responded by echoing earlier statements made by Prime Minister Robert Abela, who had stated that he does not get involved with journalists’ affairs. “What Karl Stagno Navarra is doing is out of his own initiative,” Sciberras clarified.

Sciberras warned against cruelty in a Facebook comment beneath one of Stagno Navarra's posts

The PL president then emphasised that he believes in a form of politics that addresses the needs and concerns of the Maltese people. “It’s in nobody’s interest to let hate fester among people,” adding that this form of politics is attributed to the PN.

Sciberras echoed a Facebook comment he had written under Stagno Navarra’s post a few days ago. Addressing an opinion poll, he warned that “if the PL becomes haughty, it will lose its soul completely.”

“We should never become cruel like others who have nothing to offer. Only Malta will lose should we do that,” Sciberras had told Stagno Navarra.

When asked whether Stagno Navarra’s actions sow hatred, Sciberras said that he is asking legitimate questions about abuse from Jason Azzopardi’s end. However, he stressed that what he is interested in is to be close to the people, and emphasised that in such a small country like Malta, “hate does no good to anyone.”

Sciberras also weighed in on recent attempts to ban Stagno Navarra’s Facebook page, underlining that he believes in freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, party CEO Leonid McKay referenced allegations the former propagandist is making in relation to the PN, as he invited this media house to inquire about those allegations.

Stagno Navarra has claimed that the PN failed to transfer 15 years worth of national insurance contributions to the Social Security despite these having been deducted from his pay when he worked as a journalist with the party's media company. This, he said, left him with missing NI contributions.