Stephen Florian, the Għaqda Patrijotti Maltin member who caused an uproar when he outed a transgender person on Facebook, has resigned his position as a part-time University lecturer.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the University of Malta said that it had taken note of Dr Florian's public apology, and accepted his resignation, which is effective immediately.  

Dr Florian was a part-time lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies.

He was slammed by many online commentators as well as fellow academics for a Facebook post he uploaded on Saturday, in which he attacked a man who had protested against an an anti-immigrant rally.

"Time to get to know who Alex Caruana is and was. How can the girl who now calls herself Alexander... integrate with the Muslim community," Mr Florian wrote on his Facebook page. 

As outraged reactions to his post snowballed, Dr Florian backpedalled and issued an apology, saying he had made an error of judgment and did not have homophobic intentions. Last Monday, the University issued a statement in which it disassociated itself "unreservedly" from his remarks. 

In its statement today, the University again underlined its commitment to embracing diversity, "and to providing a welcoming learning environment to more than 12,000 students including over a thousand undergraduate and postgraduate students hailing from 92 countries".