The Nationalist Party has asked the police to investigate a former minister, a former chief of staff and a former police assistant commissioner over alleged perjury.

The party's members on the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday called at police headquarters to hand a letter to the police commissioner asking for an investigation into testimony by former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna, chief of staff Keith Schembri and assistant commissioner Silvio Valletta.

The issue is alleged false testimony before the PAC and the public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia about the contract awarded to Electrogas for the gas power station.

The PN said that on the basis of the evidence given, somebody from among Scicluna, Schembri  Valletta had not told the truth. 

The request was made following testimony before the PAC on Tuesday by Schembri, who accused Scicluna and Valletta of false testimony.  

Schembri rubbished claims made by Scicluna before the inquiry. Scicluna had told the inquiry that the big decisions by the government were taken by an inner circle that operated outside the confines of cabinet. Schembri said that as finance minister, Scicluna would have been involved in major decisions.

Schembri also denied intervening to stop the police questioning Electrogas chief Yorgen Fenech in 2018 on the secret company 17 Black.  Silvio Valletta had told the public inquiry that Schembri had rung him up to call off the questioning. “Are you going to question someone on the basis of an article in The Times,” Valletta said Schembri told him.

“There were lots of lies told during the public inquiry. He said what it paid him to say,” Schembri told the PAC.