The Minister of Internal Administration, Luís Neves, defended himself during a regimental hearing in the Assembly of the Republic against the controversies that have been hitting him over the past two months, stating he is "absolutely calm" and does not feel "minimally affected" by the situation. He responded to deputies from the PS and Chega parties, guaranteeing that he will continue in office as long as he has the confidence of the prime minister. "I will not make the position available," he stated.
Luís Neves clarified the procedures related to the trailer seized in Operation Pacoba and the vehicle seized in the drug trafficking court case linked to 'Xuxas'. Regarding the budget of 144 thousand euros for the destruction of chemical products, he stated that it was the value presented by a company. Regarding Xuxas' vehicle, he said he declared operational utility for more than 800 vehicles. Regarding the trailer, he admitted that he only learned through the media that the PJ collected it the day after the news story.
The parliamentary leader of Chega, Pedro Pinto, repeatedly questioned the minister's permanence in the Government, but Luís Neves refused to leave. The minister also made a "mea culpa" regarding the income declaration, referring to two oversights that were corrected: one about a car that should have been declared and another about a company that had not yet carried out any business.
Luís Neves announced that the PSP presented a reorganization plan in Lisbon, Porto and Setúbal, which could free up about 500 police officers for operational and patrol functions. Negotiations with the security forces unions will resume this month, as will the publication of the decree regarding police officers who will go into pre-retirement.
