WhatsApp messages between Opposition Leader Adrian Delia and the main suspect in the Daphne Caruana Galizia case that were leaked to the media have been confirmed as the “exact text” by the lead investigators.

In today’s sitting of the case against Fenech, the murder suspect’s lawyers raised the issue of data from their client’s phone being leaked to the press.

Chief Homicide Inspector Keith Arnaud confirmed he has reported the leaks to the magisterial inquiry

“The only case I know was about those regarded the opposition leader and it should not have happened. In fact I myself reported the matter to the investigation of the leaks.”

“In respect of the opposition leader, that was the exact text,” Arnaud said.

Earlier today, Malta Today published extracts from a conversation in February 2019.

At roughly 5pm that day, Fenech sent Delia a map of ‘Europe as seen through the eyes of the Maltese’: the Netherlands are ‘grass and sex’, Belgium is ‘EU’, Germany is ‘Hitler and hairy women’ and Eastern Europe and Russia are ‘prostitutes’. Delia replied “sadly true”.

An hour later at 6:48pm, Fenech told Delia:

“How are you holding up?”

“I think about you but I don’t want to bother you and add myself to the list of people who bother you.”

Delia told MaltaToday he does not recall the message.

Delia has previously vociferously denied receiving messages from Fenech. Earlier in the year, Times of Malta published a series of WhatsApp chats between Delia and Fenech in early 2019, before the businessman was arrested for the assassination of Caruana Galizia but after he was outed as the owner of the Dubai company 17 Black.

Fenech at one point asked Delia if he was up for an informal meal, with the PN leader thanking him for the offer and telling him he will ask his then head of media Pierre Portelli to organise it.

Portelli has said Delia never actually told him to organise such a meal.

Fenech also offered moral support to Delia after his wife accused him of domestic violence and after the PN was soundly trashed at last year’s European Parliament and local council elections.

The PN leader’s immediate reaction was to claim the chats were “created” as part of a scheme organised by people within the Labour Party in an attempt to intimidate him from fighting against their corruption.

Delia called on the police to investigate, claiming that his messages with Fenech don’t appear on his WhatsApp.

The issue spurred on a leadership challenge that would lead to the upcoming race between him and Bernard Grech.

What do you think of the revelations? Comment below