The defamation suit filed by Minister Carmelo Abela against PN MP Jason Azzopardi over allegations linking the minister to the 2010 HSBC failed heist will be contested, court was told on Monday.

Last month Azzopardi claimed that Abela allegedly aided the mastermind behind the attempted HSBC bank heist for a €300,000 payment from the loot.

The accusation came days after Abela denied any involvement in the heist that ended in a violent shoot-out, describing any links to him as "stories, fairytales and inventions".

When the case was called on Monday morning, Abela’s lawyer Pawlu Lia, informed Magistrate Rachel Montebello that Azzopardi’s lawyer had sought his consent for a deferment of the case, so as to file a reply to the minister’s claims.

Given there were “personal reasons” for the lawyer’s request, Abela’s lawyer did not object.

However, when asked by the court whether there was any hope of settling the dispute through mediation, Lia promptly replied, “No, no.”

There was no reaction by Azzopardi who was present in the hall.

After taking stock of the situation, the court ordered litigation to proceed, whilst granting Azzopardi’s lawyer, Joseph Zammit Maempel, who was not present in court today, a week to file a reply to Abela’s claims.

The minister had filed a late-night urgent application to kickstart libel proceedings against the PN MP who claimed that Abela was linked to the botched armed robbery.

Abela worked as manager with HSBC at the time of the attempted heist, according to his LinkedIn page and government biography, leaving that private employment when he joined cabinet in 2014.

In his affidavit presented in court, Abela “categorically and absolutely” denied any complicity in the heist.

The case continues next month.