The government is considering ways to improve the system of magisterial inquiries, including giving the victims or their relatives a right to participate or to be kept informed of the proceedings, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Wednesday. The appointment of magistrates to focus specifically on inquiries is also being considered to clear the backlog of cases.

Speaking at an interview during a Labour Party activity in Gudja, Abela urged the magistrate heading the inquiry into the construction site death of Jean Paul Sofia to work 'night and day' to conclude her report. 

He said he still hoped that the magisterial inquiry could be concluded this week and that the public inquiry would start next week, without the two overlapping.  

Replying to questions by MaltaToday journalist Karl Azzopardi,  Abela insisted he was always consistent in arguing that procedurally, the best way forward was to hold a magisterial inquiry leading to the arraignment of all those responsible for last December's tragedy. Other investigations, and he never ruled out a public inquiry, could then cover any pockets which were not covered by the magistrate, he said. 

'Never ever' expected so many extensions to magisterial inquiry term

What he 'never, ever' expected, he said, was that despite the public's demand for justice, the magistrate heading the magisterial inquiry had not completed her report in the 60 days required by law and five 30-day extensions given since. 

His wish, he said, was that the magistrate would work night and day to close the inquiry so that the public inquiry could start next week and the two would not overlap. 

The government. he said, was 'committed' to delivering justice and everybody would have to answer for his actions, including himself if needs be.

He had promised the Sofia family that he would walk with them all the way for justice to be delivered, he said. Theirs' was a common aim. The family, he said, was only demanding its rights and it was unfortunate that society had come to a stage where they had to resort to protests.

The crowd listening to the prime minister on Wednesday.

The people needed to believe that justice was being administered and people were held to account, he said.

His appeal had always been for efficiency by the court authorities. He never discussed the merits of any case, but as prime minister he had a right to expect efficiency, he said.

PN 'does not really want justice'

During the interview the prime minister lashed out at the Nationalist Party, claiming it never really wanted justice in the Sofia case but had only hopped on the bandwagon and exploited a fragile family in an effort to create a political incident.

This was becoming increasingly evident, he said, to the extent that shadow minister Karol Aquilina on Wednesday had even filed an official complaint against him and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard over their actions to demand efficiency. (The PN on Tuesday called on the Standards Commissioner to investigate the prime minister and the justice minister over their knowledge of a magistrate's request for an extension to her inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia).

Abela was also asked during the interview about the magisterial inquiry into the Vitals hospitals privatisation deal and Joseph Muscat's involvement in it. What would he do if the magistrate recommended Muscat's arrest once the inquiry was concluded?

Abela said that all inquiries needed to be concluded without undue delay. He could not comment further until the process was concluded and the report was examined, but one either believed in the institutions, or one didn't, he said.   

Asked about the ongoing power cuts, Abela said he did not exclude compensation for those who had suffered damages. He also reiterated a commitment made earlier by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli for major investment in the distribution system, saying the government decided in the past few days to allocate land for a new distribution centre in Naxxarm, one of the worst affected areas of the current power cuts.  

Debate on abortion needs acceleration but must exclude politics

In other parts of the interview, Abela reiterated his view that the debate on abortion needed to be 'accelerated' but he stressed that politicians should not be involved in it because the debate would degenerate into a political one.

The example set by Ireland should be followed, he said, where the debate was led by civil society. 

The prime minister also announced that he will be in Rome on Sunday for further talks with EU leaders and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on migration issues.