Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this afternoon that asking Manuel Mallia to resign as Minister of Home Affairs had been a courteous way of telling him to leave, but it had been made clear to him that if he did not step down, he would be dismissed.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Dr Muscat said that although Dr Mallia had paid the ultimate political price in the wake of the controversy following the shooting incident by his driver, he wished to see a future role for Dr Mallia and he was confident he would continue to contribute in Parliament.
Dr Muscat said a priority of the new Home Affairs Minister and the new Police Commissioner was to restore the people's confidence in the police force.
He said the past few weeks made the members of the government realise the importance of remaining humble.
While economic wellbeing was important, there were other issues that people worried about, such as the disproportionate use of force by a police officer.
The police force had lost the people's trust over a period of years and it was now Carmelo Abela and Police Commissioner Michael Cassar's job to restore trust.
The inquiry into the shooting by the driver of former minister Mallia, a police constable, showed there was a culture of silence in the police force as shown by the attempted cover-up.
Politically this was not a good period. But it showed how different this government was from its predecessor. "We took action to investigate the case. We followed up allegations of a cover-up. We established the facts and more importantly these led to decisions."
Dr Muscat said the decisions he had had to take were not easy. But this was the start of a European culture of accountability.
The inquiry report presented yesterday should be read by all politicians because it had observations that are very valid for every politician with reference to accountability. The Opposition, Dr Muscat said, seemed to forget what they said when in government.
'DR BUSUTTIL SHOULD SHOULDER HIS RESPONSIBILITIES'
He criticised Opposition leader Simon Busuttil for having, in transcripts issued by the PN, left out out an essential part of the transcript that alluded to the words uttered by the Police Commissioner that warning shots were fired. Dr Busuttil, he said, should also shoulder his responsibilities for this omission as well as for his criticism of the Board of Inquiry.
Dr Busuttil was still defending people within his shadow Cabinet who faced serious allegations. The standards bar had been raised not only for the government but also for the Opposition.
Dr Muscat thanked former minister Manuel Mallia. "I want to thank Manuel Mallia for his work. I respect him personally and professionally as a friend," he said.
He said the choice he had given Dr Mallia was to resign voluntarily, or he would be made to step down.
"It was a courteous way of telling him to leave. He is passing through a difficult time and I am sure he will contribute in Parliament."
"It is the prime minister's prerogative to choose the ministers. He chose not to leave and I followed on with my decision."
Dr Muscat said his decision was communicated to Dr Mallia yesterday by his chief of staff in a meeting. He later also met Dr Mallia.
Dr Muscat said he would like to see a future role for Dr Mallia.
Asked about Silvio Scerri, Dr Mallia's chief of staff, Dr Muscat said it is up to Carmelo Abela to appoint his secretariat, but, he pointed out, the inquiry found no fault with Mr Scerri. Furthermore, although Manuel Mallia paid the ultimate political price, the inquiry did not find him to be a part of the cover up.
Carmelo Abela would no longer serve as government whip or government spokesman.
MUSCAT: I DID NOT KNOW ON THE NIGHT THAT THE SHOTS WERE NOT WARNING SHOTS
Replying to questions, Dr Muscat said that on the night of the shooting incident (Nov 19) he received calls from from (MTA chairman) Gavin Gulia who was stuck in traffic under the tunnel, (OPM communications chief) Kurt Farrugia, Minister Mallia, the Police Commissioner and his chief of staff.
"I did not know that night that the shots were not warning shots," he said.
OPPOSITION NO CONFIDENCE MOTION
On the Opposition's no confidence motion in Dr Mallia, Dr Muscat said the motion was now redundant but the government was in contact with the opposition about holding a parliamentary debate instead.
In a democratic society, the removal of a minister and the police commissioner could not be taken lightly and parliament should debate all this. The government wanted the debate to be held tomorrow, Dr Muscat concluded.