The Director of the Animal Welfare Directorate has pushed back at claims made against her in a new public statement.

Her reaction comes after Lovin Malta reported that Patricia Azzopardi was under internal investigation by an appointed board. Azzopardi’s statement in full can be found below:

“I firstly would like to bring to your cognisance the fact that your sources have misinformed and misguided you when stating that I am being investigated for alleged corruption and internal mismanagement. This is totally untrue and moreover such claims are of a defamatory nature due to the potential prejudice it might cause.”

“I never in my tenure as Director of the relative department faced internal investigations of this sort and I have constantly strived to execute my role to the best of my abilities, keeping in mind the best interests of the department as a whole.”

“As documented by yourselves, my task is a challenging one, and like in any other role I have faced difficulties and obstacles which I am address effectively. I hence feel that criticism related to any shortcoming is both harsh and unmerited.”

“In conclusion and in light of the above-mentioned article you are invited to make any further verifications you deem necessary through your trusted sources in order to arrive to the truth, which is what I sincerely believe that your newsroom always strives to report.”