Opposition leader Adrian Delia on Wednesday said the Egrant report had revealed new webs of crime and corruption within the office of the prime minister, and the fact that the attorney general had not taken action about them reinforced the need for his immediate resignation.

Should the AG not resign immediately, the Labour parliamentary group, particularly the two leadership contenders should immediately declare what they intended to do about him.

Speaking in a televised message, Dr Delia defended his decision to publish the Egrant report on Tuesday after it was handed to him on the strength of a court order. In 24 hours, he said, some 90,000 people had accessed it on the internet.

While the report sought to show to whom Egrant did not belong, it also revealed other corrupt and criminal activity which should have been investigated, particularly where it involved former chief of staff Keith Schembri, former minister Konrad Mizzi, the Nexia BT accountants and others in Castille. But for a full 18 months while this report was kept hidden by the AG, nothing was done.

By hiding the report, the AG had broken the law and the European Convention of Fundamental Rights, the court had confirmed on Monday. But 48 hours on, the AG had still not resigned and was actually defending his action.

“This makes the AG an accomplice with the others, those who had known, or should have known about corruption and crime, and did nothing about it.”

Dr Delia insisted that the prime minister no longer had the legitimacy to lead the country. The overwhelming vote by MEPs – including the socialist group - condemning the Maltese government and calling on Joseph Muscat to go immediately was further evidence of how the damage being caused to Malta’s reputation was becoming irreparable, Dr Delia warned.