Ventura set to chair Luís Neves inquiry as Livre disputes conflict of interest

The parliamentary inquiry into Luís Neves's eight years as national director of the Judiciary Police (PJ), from 2018 to 2026, was due to be sworn in on Wednesday, 14 October, after delays and a dispute over who should chair it. Chega, led by André Ventura, imposed the inquiry through a potestative mechanism, and almost three months passed between the party's announcement and the start. Speaker José Pedro Aguiar-Branco admitted the request only at the third attempt and insisted that the inquiry's subject be clearly delimited. Neves now serves as minister of Internal Administration.

Who sits on the committee

Chega chose Ventura himself along with Cristina Rodrigues, Ricardo Reis, Rui Paulo Sousa and Sandra Ribeiro. Rui Rocha represents Liberal Initiative, with Mariana Leitão as substitute, and Filipe Sousa represents Juntos pelo Povo, which had also filed its own request for an inquiry into Neves. The governing AD bloc places two members of the PSD parliamentary leadership, Hugo Carneiro and Andreia Neto, among the eight full members, with António Rodrigues as substitute. João Pinho de Almeida is listed for CDS-PP, while the Socialist Party (PS) has André Rijo.

The conflict-of-interest dispute

Livre argues that Ventura cannot preside because he has become an assistant (assistente) in a criminal case over the alleged break-in at his parliamentary office on 28 July, when documents and storage devices reportedly disappeared. On Thursday, 8 October, Livre asked the speaker to refer the question to the Transparency and Statute of Deputies Committee. On Tuesday, 13 October, Aguiar-Branco ruled that the evidence did not show a conflict preventing Ventura from joining or chairing the inquiry.

1. Jul 28, 2026Alleged break-in at Ventura's parliamentary office, with documents and storage devices reported missing
2. Oct 8, 2026Livre asks the speaker to refer Ventura's potential conflict of interest to the Transparency Committee
3. Oct 13, 2026Speaker's ruling finds no conflict of interest and confirms the swearing-in procedure
4. Oct 14, 2026Scheduled swearing-in of the inquiry committee

In a letter to Livre parliamentary leader Isabel Mendes Lopes, the speaker's office said Livre could have sent its complaint straight to the Transparency Committee without prior approval, and that it had never asked the speaker to do so before. Rui Tavares, a Livre deputy, rejected that reading. He argued that the opinion belongs to the committee rather than the speaker:

The opinion falls to the Transparency and Statute of Deputies Committee, not to the speaker of the Assembly of the Republic.

Tavares added that the rule covers substitutes as well as the chair, and questioned how someone can judge the PJ leadership in a committee while the police investigate a case in that person's own office.

The SIRESP payment claim

Ricardo Carrilho, the dismissed secretary-general of the Internal Administration Ministry, denounced pressure to make a 26 million euro payment to SIRESP, the company that runs the emergency communications network. Ventura said on Tuesday that Neves's government performance is not "evidently" the object of the inquiry. He nonetheless argued that the latest reports reinforce what he called the minister's "pattern of informality in management". The inquiry's defined focus remains Neves's conduct as PJ director between 2018 and 2026.

Ventura's reaction and next steps

Speaking to journalists at Chega's headquarters on Tuesday, Ventura called the Livre request "one more attempt to block" the committee, which he said has faced successive postponements. He said the cases make a thorough investigation more urgent, and insisted:

This committee cannot stop. It cannot be blocked by any interest and cannot be suspended by any party demonstration.

Ventura expects to take office as chair on Wednesday and plans to meet the party coordinators immediately to decide which documents to request and which people to hear.