The GSD says that, after spending £8M to establish the truth of what happened, the taxpayer "should not have to subsidise Mr Picardo’s private legal challenge against those very Inquiry findings."

A statement continued: "Mr Picardo’s legal challenge against the Openshaw findings is a desperate attempt at political survival given the obvious consequences of the Openshaw Report. The irony will not be lost on anyone who remembers that 6 weeks ago he said that Government had been “vindicated” and he himself “exonerated” by the Report. If that was so why is a legal challenge now necessary? The reality – as is usual with this GSLP Government – is that the protestations of findings of innocence and exoneration were false and subjected to a high degree of twist and spin.

"This is a decision to issue judicial review proceedings against the Inquiry that the GSLP itself convened and that Mr Picardo promised would establish “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” It is now obvious that Mr Picardo is only willing to accept the “truth” if the Inquiry agreed with him or he writes it himself. Anything else is unacceptable in his world of twisted reality."

Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi said: “In what world were the attempts to interfere in a criminal investigation part of Mr Picardo’s Ministerial duty? Perhaps only on Planet GSLP. Like any private citizen who isn’t of low means if he brings a private legal challenge he should pay for this himself. Not satisfied with undermining the Inquiry process in Parliament and contradicting his own position of ‘vindication’ and ‘exoneration’ or his predictions that he was confident the Inquiry would establish “the truth” he is now challenging the findings of the Inquiry he himself convened. Worse still and after the inquiry cost the taxpayer £8M he has been dismissive of Sir Peter Openshaw’s Report as just another “opinion” and is getting the taxpayer to pay for his own private legal challenge. In doing so he is going beyond the accepted rules which provide that the State will pay for legal costs of proceedings in relation to things done within the scope of duty of a Minister."