The Opposition leader’s request for the publication of the Egrant inquiry was unjustified, the Attorney General said in a counter-protest to that filed by Adrian Delia last week.

On Thursday, Dr Delia filed a judicial protest calling on the Attorney General to pass on to him the full version of the inquiry report.

He argued that the Opposition should not be denied access to the information about witnesses and documentation in the report, which could shed light on the truth. Dr Delia also argued that the decision to give a copy to the prime minister was creating a political imbalance in favour of the government.

In his counter protest, the AG said he had accepted the Prime Minister’s request for a copy of the report because the inquiry had been requested by the Prime Minister and important decisions on his position as Prime Minister depended on its conclusions.

Read: Egrant inquiry will not be published for 'at least a few weeks'

This overcame all other considerations against its release.

The magisterial inquiry found there was no evidence linking Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his wife Michelle or their family to secret Panama company Egrant Inc.

The AG pointed out the publication of the inquiry’s main conclusions verbatim satisfied the public interest in the matter.

Whether or not publication created a political imbalance in favour of the government did not form part of his considerations for or against publication, he said.

It was clear that the Opposition leader’s position for wanting a copy of the report was different to that of the Prime Minister, who had requested the inquiry and which inquiry directly dealt with his and his wife’s behaviour. This meant it concerned him personally and directly impinged on the implementation of his public duties.