The Nationalist Party has struck off the membership of Adrian Delia’s lawyer Arthur Azzopardi, after he revealed to Lovin Malta he had been a freemason.

The decision means he will not be able to vote in this Saturday’s leadership election. 

Azzopardi said yesterday he had been a freemason between 2009 and 2011 but had been kicked out after he called for two warring lodges to put aside their differences and merge, for the order to loosen its secrecy rules, and for it to remove its ban on women members. 

“They were normal meetings though, everyone wearing jackets and ties, and I laugh when I read all these conspiracy theories about freemasonry online,” he told Lovin Malta. “It’s just not on, there’s nothing morbid about the meetings.”

Azzopardi is representing Adrian Delia in five libel suits the PN leadership favourite had filed against Daphne Caruana Caruana Galizia over reports accusing him of laundering money from a Soho prostitution ring. 

He said he had told Delia about his freemasonry past, but the PN leader hopeful had no problem with it because he is no longer a member.

However, the PN took a much firmer stance on the lawyer’s past, noting in a statement the party statute has since 1991 banned members from forming part of any secret society, such as freemasonry. 

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]