Education Minister Evarist Bartolo has said justice needs to be done "without fear or favour" in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case and facts to be made public, for the country to be able to return to normality. 

“To move on and turn a new page, we need to know all the facts and responsibilities of those involved in the murder,” Mr Bartolo wrote on Facebook on Saturday morning, adding that he expected “all necessary steps to be taken to ensure justice, without fear or favour”. 

Political pressure has been mounting on the government since Wednesday, when businessman Yorgen Fenech was arrested as a “person of interest” in the 2017 murder of Ms Caruana Galizia. 

As of Saturday morning, Mr Fenech was still under arrest but had yet to face charges. 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has appeared to take a leading role in matter, providing updates on the investigation, answering journalists’ questions and saying he had assumed sole responsibility for offering an alleged middleman in the crime immunity from prosecution in exchange for information about the case. 

He has however shrugged off questions about political involvement in the case, telling journalists on Wednesday that there was no indication “until now” of politicians being involved in the case and dodging questions about his chief of staff,  Keith Schembri. 

Mr Schembri has in the past acknowledged that he had included an offshore company owned by Mr Fenech, 17 Black, in “draft business plans” for his business. 

In 2018, a leaked email revealed that 17 Black was listed as the source of funds for offshore companies Mr Schembri and minister Konrad Mizzi had set up while in office.

Dr Muscat’s decision to front the investigation prompted the Caruana Galizia family to issue a statement on Friday in which they warned the Prime Minister to steer clear of the investigation. 

Council of Europe rapporteur Peter Omtzigt also queried Dr Muscat’s involvement in the case, saying the suspicions of personal and political interest were “too strong”.