Political party Momentum has declared its support for a referendum to annul an upcoming government bill to make changes to magisterial inquiries.

In a statement Thursday, the party said that following the bill passing through a second reading in Parliament last night, it was “time to start organising ourselves for an abrogative referendum.”

The bill, which will now move to committee stage, sees a raft of changes to magisterial inquiries including forcing citizens to make requests for inquiries to the police first and introducing stricter requirements on evidence submitted for consideration.

The changes have provoked significant backlash from across the political spectrum and from civil society groups and former chief justices.

Momentum General Secretary Mark Camilleri Gambin said the party was “full square behind the proposal originally put forward by ADPD to collect signatures for a referendum to abrogate the repressive clauses in the law, once it is finally approved in third reading.”

Acknowledging the difficulty of receiving 10 per cent of the population’s signatures, he called for activists "ranging from [Moviment] Graffitti to Repubblika, Birdlife to Friends of the Earth, Aditus to Occupy Justice,” and political parties to form a “referendum committee.”

In an apparent comment on the progress of the bill, Gambin said the “battle on this vital issue has been temporarily lost, but the people's will shall ultimately prevail.”

In January, ADPD said it was ready to call for an abrogative referendum to annul any laws that protect abuse in the public sector, with party leader Sandra Gauci saying, “Abuse of public office is the abuse of democracy”.