Outgoing Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has claimed that reports of luxury gifts he had received from Yorgen Fenech are the upshot of a blackmail threat he had received when the murder suspect had requested a presidential pardon.

Speaking on ONE Radio this morning, Muscat referred to a mysterious message he said he received last month, which suggested that Fenech would implicate him personally unless he advised in favour of a presidential pardon for him. Despite this message, Cabinet rejected Fenech’s request for a pardon, on the grounds of advice from the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General.

“I will keep on respecting the Office of the Prime Minister and stating what I must without playing anyone’s game,” Muscat said. “I was threatened that I’d be targeted with a smear campaign if I did my duty and followed the Police Commissioner’s and Attorney General’s advice, but I did my duty and this is the result. However, I did my duty and will keep on doing it.”

Muscat, who will step down as Prime Minister next month, reiterated that he always acted correctly when he received expensive gifts, either returning them to sender or handing them over to the state.

“Many things are being said, some people are inventing things and some people are believing them,” he said. “I’ve always acted correctly when I received expensive gifts. I either returned them or, when I couldn’t, I left them in the hands of the state.”

“On the contrary, my predecessors had left empty offices and residences, they didn’t even leave a pencil behind them. I certainly found no numbered gifts that were given to a Prime Minister when Malta joined the EU.”