The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anġlu Farrugia, on Tuesday urged both sides of the House to immediately hold a mature discussion on how to regulate the taking of photographs in the Chamber.

He was delivering a ruling following a complaint by Nationalist MP David Agius who on Monday observed that the Labour Party’s Sunday newspaper KullĦadd had published a picture taken in the Chamber without permission.

The photo was taken during a moment of uproar in the House during Thursday afternoon’s sitting.

The Nationalist MP asked whether this meant that henceforth photos could be taken freely in the House.

In his ruling, the Speaker observed that Standing Orders were silent about this matter and only provided guidelines on direct audio and video broadcasting.

He pointed out, however, that the practice to date was for photos to be taken inside the chamber only after permission was granted by both sides of the House.

He also noted that the House of Commons regulated the use of mobile phones and tablets in the House and banned recording or the taking of photos.

He recalled that in 2017 the Chair had asked both sides of parliament to draw up guidelines on the use of mobile phones and tablets in the Maltese chamber, and he was not repeating that appeal.