Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando says he regrets the way he acted at the height of the Mistra controversy last year, but insists he only behaved in that manner because he was following orders from his party.

Dr Pullicino told The Sunday Times: "I blindly followed orders. There isn't a single word I said before or after the election that I regret. I was careful in every statement I made. I do regret that I assisted in over-inflating a non-issue, which caused a lot of hurt."

In his first interview since the court cleared two former Development Control Commission officials of exercising private interest in the adjudication of an outline permit for a development in Mistra, Dr Pullicino Orlando says he is pleased with the verdict but adds that the Planning Authority auditor should hang his head in shame.

"He has contributed to his two colleagues' distress in the past year-and-a-half."

Dr Pullicino also says there was a movement from within his party to hound him out by turning public opinion against him after the 2008 election, and he singles out former PN general secretary Joe Saliba for criticism.

However, when asked if today he considered himself to be a disgruntled MP, he says: "Definitely not.

I can't understand why anyone would consider me to be disgruntled."