Opposition leader Bernard Grech wants his MPs to come clean about any gifts or freebies they may have received from the business community. 

Taking reporters questions on Tuesday, Grech told Times of Malta that he had asked his parliamentary group to inform him whether they had received any gifts or favours that could pose a potential conflict or debt. 

Grech was weighing in on the decision for firebrand MP Jason Azzopardi to suspend himself after it was revealed he had accepted free hotel accommodation from the Tumas Group, owned by the family of alleged Daphne Caruana Galizia murder conspirator Yorgen Fenech. 

Grech was reluctant to weigh in on Azzopardi’s case, saying it would be reviewed by a party body.

The Nationalist Party, he said, was not just talking the talk on good governance, but had decided to walk the walk. 

“It is clear that we are not a party of impunity, we are not a party of double standards, we are a party of action,” he said.

Grech said it would be naive to assume that no politicians had accepted free meals after sitting down around a table for a meeting. 

However, he wanted his group to be free from any leverage that could be used against them by anyone with ulterior motives. 

Grech also offered a defense of Azzopardi, saying he was a politician that had caused the Labour administration great discomfort, and so he understood the persistent attacks on his character. 

That said, both he and Azzopardi had agreed during a meeting yesterday that the best option was to take a step back until the facts of the matter can be verified.