Justice minister receives warning from party leadership

Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Wednesday that Justice Minister Pavel Blažek has received a warning from the party leadership over his meeting with Martin Nejedlý, the controversial political lobbyist and former advisor to ex-president Miloš Zeman who is believed to have close ties with Russia. Many of the government's coalition partners and civic action groups are calling for Mr Blažek to resign over the incident. The prime minister told journalists that in making his decision about whether the minister would be allowed to keep his post, he took into account Mr Blažek's good work heading the Justice Ministry.

On Wednesday morning, Mr Blažek explained the circumstances surrounding his five-hour encounter with Mr Nejedlý at a Prague restaurant last week, which he says was coincidental, to the leadership of the Civic Democrat party, which both he and the prime minister belong to. He also defended himself before the Senate on Wednesday, saying that he had ducked into the restaurant to take cover from a heavy storm, and the reason for his long stay was simply his talkativeness. He told them that the content of his conversation with Mr Nejedlý was not political or anything to be ashamed of, and also pointed out that Mr Nejedlý was not the only person he spoke to in the restaurant. However, he admitted that he didn't sufficiently think through the political implications of his actions.

The coalition party leaders are due to discuss the affair at a meeting on Wednesday evening.