A judge has granted Opposition leader Adrian Delia limited access to his children, allowing him to see them three times a week at his in-laws’ house, in case the couple failed to agree on wider access.

Madam Justice Jacqueline Padovani Grima was ruling following an application filed by Dr Delia asking to be allowed to see his children.

In a reply to his application, his estranged wife Nicola Vella de Fremaux accused him of domestic violence and of having been violent towards their children. In one paragraph of this document, leaked to the media and widely circulated on social media, Dr Vella de Fremeaux alleges that her husband was violent and abusive towards a number of his five children, who she said had also “witnessed their father beating their mother”.

In a court sitting on Thursday, Madam Justice Padovani Grima allowed Dr Delia to see his children for two hours on Tuesdays, three-and-a-half hours on Thursdays and for a full day on alternate weekend days.

The decree, which has also been circulating on social media, also states that giving Dr Delia more time with the children would depend on agreement between the parties.

The couple also agreed in court that no details of their personal problems or those involving their children would be made public through the media.

Leaks of documents have however spilled onto social media and added pressure on Dr Delia to step down as Nationalist Party leader. 

The court also ordered Dr Delia to pay his wife alimony, which the court fixed at €2,750 a month, as well as school and medical fees.

Lawyers Aldo Vella and Albert Libreri represented the two in court.

In a statement issued by the Nationalist Party on Saturday afternoon, Dr Delia said he would not be commenting on the matter but would resist "malicious attempts" to turn what was a private matter into a political one.