UPDATED/Giovanna Debono resigns from Nationalist Party

The Nationalist Party has called a press conference for 3.30pm, and the subject is almost certainly the resignation from the party of Giovanna Debono, who was Gozo Minister for many years, having held on to that post with a tenacity that brooked no competition.

This means that Mrs Debono will no longer hold her seat in parliament under the Nationalist Party whip, though she may retain it as an independent member.

Mrs Debono has already given an indication of her resentment, and of what is to come, by ‘scooping’ the PN’s press conference and announcing the news herself just minutes before the party was due to meet the media.

She has also just confirmed that she will hang on to her seat.

This news follows from the arraignment of her husband today on corruption charges. He worked in the Gozo Ministry when his wife was Gozo Minister, and stands accused of commissioning contractors to carry out jobs for his wife’s constituents, then asking them to bill the Ministry.