Updated 8pm with PL reaction

The Nationalist Party has condemned the Labour Party’s call for a parliamentary motion to be discussed on Monday about “attacks on the Speaker” saying parliamentary time should be put to better use.

In a statement on Saturday, Opposition leader Bernard Grech called the “hastily” prepared motion a “direct attack on the 123,000 Maltese citizens who voted for the Nationalist Party in the last general election”.

On Wednesday the PL tabled a parliamentary motion to be debated on Monday condemning “attacks” on Speaker Anglu Farrugia.

Farrugia had rejected PN claims of political bias and partisan interests in his running of the House of Representatives saying he was committed to the observance of Standing Orders and democratic principles

Grech said parliament should dedicate its time to discussing and addressing "national issues of great importance", arguing that by choosing not to focus on these “critical issues”, the government was “attempting to deprive thousands of Maltese of their Constitutional right to representation.”

“This a direct threat to our democracy as the Labour majority in Parliament is attempting to condemn those who oppose it by assuming the role of prosecutor, judge, and jury all at once,” Grech said.

In a statement issued Saturday, the Labour Party insisted on the need for reforms to protect citizens from "the cruel politics of an extremist faction that seeks to wreak havoc to people's lives". 

"On Monday, in parliament, the government shall be on the side of the Maltese," the PL said.