Opposition leader Bernard Grech has written to the Broadcasting Authority requesting “an urgent meeting” to be held by Friday.

He said he was asking for the meeting because of the “rampant breach of impartiality” at Public Broadcasting Services and its “partisan manipulation” in the reporting of government information.

Grech said that, as the licensed owner, the government had the duty to safeguard freedom of expression and ensure the spread of fair and balanced information in line with the Human Rights Convention and Malta’s constitution.

Grech has long been claiming that the public broadcaster is under the control of the Labour Party and government. 

In a recent interview with Times of Malta, he said that his party’s message was not reaching people because PBS has been ‘captured’ by the Labour Party and Castille.

Carmelo Abela, the minister responsible for state broadcasting, has rebutted the claims saying that Grech's criticism is "unfair".