The police have denied using any "excessive force" on a group of young protesters during the annual Freedom Day commemoration last Tuesday.

In reply to questions sent by The Times, a spokesman for the police said officers "only removed a group of persons from the area where the activity was being held".

Last Tuesday, during the annual Freedom Day wreath-laying ceremony in Vittoriosa, Moviment Graffiti protesters jumped the barricades as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi arrived. They then tried to lie on the ground as a sign of protest against the presence of warships in Malta.

Police officers ejected the protesters but the group later complaining of excessive force. They claimed that a person in civilian clothing kicked some of them and 20-year-old Dorianna Apap showed abrasions on her back, claiming they were caused when she was dragged on the ground.

In reply to questions by The Times, a police spokesman last Friday said officers "only removed" a group of persons from the area where the Freedom Day activity was being held.

"The whole incident happened in a few seconds and unless proper action was taken to remove them from site, the ceremony would have been halted and disrupted," the spokesman said. Moreover, the spokesman continued, three officers - an inspector, a female police sergeant and a police constable - suffered from slight injuries during the incident.