A set of guidelines by the Standards Commissioner on paid government adverts should be enshrined in law, Speaker Anglu Farrugia said on Wednesday. 

Farrugia told a sitting of parliament's Standards in Public Life committee that he not only agreed with the guidelines drawn up by former commissioner George Hyzler, but believed they could be beefed up. 

He called on both sides of the house to debate the issue in parliament "as soon as possible".

The Parliamentary Standards Committee met on Wednesday to discuss a report by Hyzler which concluded that tax-funded adverts extolling ministers breached ethics rules.

The former commissioner had found that ministers had between them spent €16,700 on taxpayer-funded adverts praising themselves in a 32-page supplement of the Labour Party’s newspaper KullĦadd.  

Wednesday's committee meeting ended abruptly as the Speaker had to leave the sitting. Although no reason was given, Farrugia could be heard saying he had a family emergency before exiting the room. The streaming of the sitting ended soon after. 

Photos of ministers in ads are small: Andy Ellul

Earlier, Labour MP Andy Ellul argued that the guidelines were not enshrined in law and therefore cannot be enforced.

"The Commissioner cannot tell us we did not follow his guidelines as these were not in the law. If we are talking about rule of law, the Commissioner cannot just assume his guidelines are law," he said.

The adverts, he said, were of national interest and served to give "a moral boost" during the pandemic. 

"I cannot understand how this is seen as problematic when we are duty-bound, as cabinet members, to keep a record of our work," he said. 

The photos of the ministers used alongside the adverts were so small it was almost difficult to make them out, Ellul repeatedly pointed out.  

Government will come up with any excuse: PN MPs

PN MP Ryan Callus said a similar report published before the guidelines had been drawn up, had not been accepted by the government because, at the time, there were no guidelines in place. 

"They are now saying the guidelines go against the law. The government side will come back with other excuses in the future why it should not approve reports," Callus said. 

Meanwhile, PN MP Mark Anthony Sammut said the hearing was not about the Commissioner's guidelines, but about a breach of ethics as outlined by these guidelines. The law, he said, allowed the commissioner to draw up his own conclusions about breach of ethics. 

In April 2021, Hyzler had found that a €7,000 government advert campaign featuring then-minister Carmelo Abela did not contain any “information of value” to the public and was intended to boost the minister’s image.

Abela defended his actions by pointing out that no guidelines for government adverts existed.