An Opposition motion calling on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to sack his chief of staff Keith Schembri after he dropped a libel case to avoid testifying was tabled on Wednesday evening.

The move followed an urgent Parliamentary Group meeting called by Nationalist leader Adrian Delia in the morning.

In a statement, the PN noted that the motion received unanimous backing and had to be debated urgently in view of the “highly-sensitive” position occupied by Mr Schembri within the Prime Minister’s Office.

The move comes a day after Dr Delia’s predecessor, PN MP Simon Busuttil, called on the Opposition to take a more vociferous stand on the matter. 

“While Dr Delia has already called for Mr Schembri’s sacking, this motion is meant to step up the pressure on the Prime Minister to take action,” PN sources said.

In a press conference on Monday afternoon, Dr Delia said he would be attending a protest on Saturday aimed at pressuring Mr Schembri to resign. The protest is being organised by civil society groups Repubblika and Occupy Justice.

Why is Keith Schembri under fire?

Mr Schembri had sued Dr Busuttil in 2016 after being aggrieved by remarks in a public protest implicating him in corruption.

He dropped the case on Monday, after refusing to reply to questions on Dubai-based company 17 Black while being cross examined by Dr Busuttil’s lawyers.

17 Black, which belongs to businessman and Delimara power station director Yorgen Fenech, was listed in a leaked email as a target client which would be depositing up to €2 million to secret companies owned by Mr Schembri and Minister Konrad Mizzi.

PD petitions parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Partit Demokratiku petitioned parliament for the Public Accounts Committee to summon Mr Schembri to answer questions about his dealings with businessman Yorgen Fenech and his secret company 17 Black.

"Keith Schembri must face the law and he must also face the citizens of Malta in respect of 17 Black. We would have preferred had the prime minister taken action, as guardian of our democratic principles, but instead the prime minister is choosing Schembri over the people," the party said.

The petition was signed by Matthew Mizzi, who asked whether Mr Schembri's business connections influence the decision-making process at the highest level of the government.

The petition is subject to approval by the Speaker of the House, following which it will be considered by the Standing Committee on Petitions.

By Dr Delia’s yardstick he should also resign - PL

In a statement, the Labour Party said that Dr Delia’s motion revolved on a decision to withdraw a libel case. By the same argument, the PN leader should also step down as he had dropped a libel case following Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.

The only difference is that in other cases there are pending magisterial inquiries whereas in the case of Dr Delia there are none as he was afraid to go to a Magistrate, the PL said.  

Moreover, it criticised the PN leader for giving in to the pressure of the “Simon Busuttil faction”.

Dr Delia has not yet realised that in trying to appease those around him by attacking the government, he is attacking himself, the statement read.  

Read the PN motion in full in the PDF below.