Opposition leader Adrian Delia on Thursday called on the President to remove Prime Minister Joseph Muscat following court testimony which showed that his former chief of staff, Keith Schembri, is under investigation for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

He said the information about the investigation meant that the Office of the Prime Minister was itself being investigated for assassination.

This, he said in a televised message, was the most intolerable thing which one could have in any democracy.

“The prime minister needs to leave, today” Dr Delia said.

He also called on the President to invoke the Constitution and remove the prime minister if he did not leave immediately.

As part of this process, he said, the deputy prime minister and the government MPs needed to shoulder their responsibilities. 

He said it was useless of those aspiring to become prime minister to speak about their belief in the rule of law and about what they would do in the future.

“The time is now, the need is immediate and they must shoulder the responsibilities which the country demands of them,” Dr Delia said. 

Earlier on Thursday afternoon Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, replying to reporters' questions, said he would stick to his departure timetable, despite an overwhelming vote in the European Parliament on Wednesday calling on him to leave office immediately.