The Nationalist Party has called on the prime minister to apologise for having, by his own admission, had a conversation with a magistrate on sentencing policy.

Robert Abela has been calling on the courts to impose tougher sentences as a message to society. He said on Sunday that he had a conversation with a magistrate who told him that whenever magistrates imposed sentences which were at the higher end of what was allowed by law, they were almost always reduced on appeal, with the courts citing previous sentences.

The prime minister's comments were backed by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard.

The shadow minister for justice, Karol Aquilina, said the prime minister's actions were dangerous and unacceptable in a democracy since they showed scant respect for the independence of the judiciary. The prime minister himself knew that the members of the judiciary were precluded, in terms of their code of ethics,  from speaking with anyone about their duties.  

He also pointed out that a few weeks ago the prime minister also made comments about the choice of members of the judiciary, a move clearly intended to influence the people involved in making those choices.

He called on the prime minister to publicly apologise for his actions and for having set a bad example to society.