Bernard Grech has slammed Robert Abela for claiming the PN is planning a “trap” for Labour supporters who plan to rally in support of Joseph Muscat ahead of his appearance in court next week. 

Such “dangerous” comments only serve to rile people up, Grech said, urging the prime minister to go to the police if his information is to be believed. 

In comments to Times of Malta on Tuesday, Abela said that on May 28, ahead of Muscat’s court date, the Nationalist Party was planning a “trap” for those in attendance and urged people to “keep calm and not be provoked”. 

He did not provide any further specific information when asked to do so. 

In an immediate response published on Facebook, Grech slammed Abela’s comments as “dangerous” and said they would only serve to inflame tensions between people. 

“It is evident these are comments of a desperate person who has not only lost control of the Labour Party and the government but is a prime minister who instead of doing everything he can to make sure our institutions work with serenity, is not only attacking them, but is making up stories about the PN,” Grech said. 

“Robert Abela, you must stop this dangerous attitude immediately. Your speech is intended to rile people up, to do damage and create trouble. So that’s why I am warning you to put a stop to this behaviour.”

Casting doubt on the veracity of the claims, Grech added that nonetheless, if Abela has any information, he should go to the police commissioner and ask him to investigate. 

“If it is true, because I am convinced you are making all of this up, since you have lost all decency, then take this information to the police commissioner and ask him to investigate,” Grech continued. 

“Or have you now lost all confidence in the police commissioner as well?” he questioned. 

Abela’s comments in recent weeks concerning the conclusion of the Vital’s inquiry and Magistrate Gabriella Vella have been widely criticised by NGOs and civil society and have been interpreted by such groups, including law students, as an attack on the judiciary. 

The prime minister has cast suspicions about the length and timing of the inquiry’s conclusion and has claimed that this was intentionally done to hurt the Labour Party at the upcoming MEP and Local Council Elections, calling it "political terrorism". 

Muscat faces charges of money laundering, corruption and bribery, among other very serious crimes related to the hospitals’ deal that saw three state hospitals handed over to the private sector. 

Last year a court nullified that deal after finding it was ‘fraudulent’. 

Grech appealed for people to remain cautious and responsible and to not fall for the PM’s provocations.