Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/834699
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2017 News 7 THIS IS A PAID ADVERT Muscat: My friendship with Keith Schembri 'nothing to be ashamed of' MIRIAM DALLI PRIME Minister and Labour leader Joseph Muscat yester- day said that his friendship with his chief of staff, Keith Schembri, was "nothing to be ashamed of ". Muscat was replying to questions about whether it was because Schembri was his "best friend" – as de- scribed in a mail shot by Schembri himself – that he didn't accept his resignation. Schembri yesterday said that he had offered his resig- nation more than once. "Friendship is not some- thing to be accused of and friendship has nothing to do with the matter. And if there will be criminal proceedings, he will resign... no friendship will stop that. "I have paid the political price for my decision and it's for the people to decide now," he said, referring to the decision to retain Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi despite their involvement in the Panama Papers leakages. Muscat said that Schembri had offered his resignation even when reports alleged that Schembri was termi- nally ill. "A serious health matter was translated into some- thing terminal which had left a big impact on his fam- ily, who were heartbroken. I definitely was not going to discard a person who needed support." Earlier yesterday morning, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil insisted that Mus- cat would have to go too if Schembri were to face crimi- nal proceedings. For Muscat, this meant that Busuttil has "given up", ar- guing that by Busuttil's own yardstick, the same should be applied for the PN leader and his deputy, Beppe Fene- ch Adami in connection with the FIAU investigation of drug money laundering. Pointing out that the al- legations of kickbacks from the LNG project were issued just an hour before he went live on debate with Busuttil, the Prime Minister accused the Leader of the Opposition of having "a criminal always by his side". His reply came after a re- porter asked him why he had chosen to retain "the crimi- nals" at Castille. "I am not referring to Beppe Fenech Adami," Muscat said. "Simon Busuttil has some- one who is always around him, and all he has to do is turn around his head, who is involved in drugs." Joseph Muscat (L) embraced by Keith Schembri (centre) in 2013