AD leader Harry Vassallo said this afternoon that he welcomed the fact that the Commissioner of Police appeared to have taken up his suggestion for an independent inquiry into the circumstances leading to him being notified on Wednesday about an arrest warrant issued by the courts five months ago.

Dr Vassallo said he wished to thank the hundreds of people who had expressed solidarity with him and his family.

There was no doubt, he said, that this was an attempt by the PN and Media.Link to embarrass him a few hours before the end of the electoral campaign. The Police Commissioner's investigation today, he said, had not been conducted because he had been informed by the police of the arrest warrant but because it was too much of a coincidence for the Media.link journalist to raise the matter just a few hours before the police officers turned up.

Dr Vassallo said he had a meeting with the Commissioner this morning and they agreed that this coincidence deserved further investigation in order to protect the reputation of the police. However it would be very difficult to prove the involvement of people outside the police force.

Dr Vassallo said that while he had given an account of what had happened, it would appear to be difficult for the Commissioner to draw such an account from the journalist because of the privileges which journalists enjoyed.

It appeared, Dr Vassallo said, that the police commissioner agreed with his proposal for an independent inquiry because he could not investigate the matter further himself owing to his role as defender of the reputation of the force, which had been blemished by this coincidence which could not but be suspicious.

However it would also be difficult for the Police board to find traces of anyone's involvement and it might therefore never be known how this coincidence occurred, Dr Vassallo said