Blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia has stood by the Egrant whistleblower, insisting there could be no doubt over the Russian national’s credibility despite claims of collusion with the Kremlin.

“She is just an ordinary woman with a husband, two children and a job to pay the bills,” Ms Caruana Galizia said of the former Pilatus Bank employee, identified only as Maria E., who brought to light allegations that the Prime Minister’s wife, Michelle Muscat, had shares in Egrant.

READ: Muscat refuses to speculate on Russian spy claims

“Nobody’s seen her, so they imagine some exotic spy, but she’s just an ordinary mother. The obvious question is what kind of spy would draw attention to herself by continuing to chase her employers, through the courts, for her unpaid salary.”

Speaking to the Times of Malta, Ms Caruana Galizia said that had the story been engineered by the Kremlin, there would have been no need of a Russian national within Pilatus, holding up the confiscation of Maria E.’s passport as further proof against the theory.

She described the claims of Russian interference, which originated with a report in Intelligence Online before being confirmed by the Prime Minister, as “absolutely ridiculous” and Joseph Muscat’s reaction as “ham-acting”, insisting the information release had been orchestrated from Castille.

“Most people read it as fake, which is why the instant reaction was laughter and mockery. We are now in Donald Trump territory: Muscat is fighting for his life and there is no lie that is too big for him to make up,” she said.

Ms Caruana Galizia also highlighted the potential diplomatic fallout from the incident, stressing that it came from the head of government of an EU member state currently holding the EU Council presidency.

The Russian embassy yesterday issued a categorical denial of the claims.