Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said he met members of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family, but declined to give details of the meeting and what was discussed. 

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Dr Muscat also refused to be drawn into giving further details about the investigation into Ms Caruana Galizia's murder.

The Caruana Galizia family had asked to meet Dr Muscat following the appointment of a public inquiry in the journalist's murder. 

They made the request after expressing concerns about the impartiality of the three individuals appointed to the board of inquiry.

Among other things, the inquiry will be held to establish whether the assassination of Ms Caruana Galizia in October 2017 could have been prevented. The inquiry is to be concluded within nine months.

Speaking in Parliament, Dr Muscat reiterated his concern that providing information about ongoing investigations could only serve to benefit those who were being investigated, alerting the subjects of such investigations to the fact that they were under scrutiny, he added. 

Furthermore, he was not privy to the details of the investigation but was only kept informed of the "broad strokes" because of the investigation's importance.

He was speaking after Opposition leader Adrian Delia asked for a ministerial statement following revelations in The Sunday Times of Malta that a major businessman was among three potential key suspects behind the assassination of Ms Caruana Galizia, attributing this information to two sources close to the investigation.

Dr Delia questioned the "silence" with which the revelations had been greeted, saying he expected a government reaction on such "a matter of national import."
While stating that he respected the responsibility of journalists to decide what to publish and what not to publish, Dr Muscat said that it was imperative for media sources to take responsibility for details which they chose to make public. It was not his job to confirm or speculate upon the veracity of information which was ultimately published. 

Dr Muscat added that press statements issued by a member of the House following the publication of the article had gone beyond the content of the article itself.

Reassuring the Prime Minister that he was not in the business of speculation, Dr Delia called for such critical information concerning the progress of important investigations to be provided through official channels such as the Police Commissioner, as was the norm in democratic countries. 

However, Dr Muscat insisted that, at this stage, every word would play into the suspects' hands.

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