His driver Paul Sheehan, who fired at another man’s car.

The Prime Minister should sack his Home Affairs Minister for “lying” about the version of events surrounding his driver’s shooting incident, says Opposition leader Simon Busuttil.

But Prime Minister Joseph Muscat ignored the call to boot Manuel Mallia out of his Cabinet.

Instead, he expressed his “anger” at how the driver – Constable Paul Sheehan – fired three shots at a Scotsman’s car after he crashed into the minister’s parked vehicle on Wednesday night.

“The way the situation escalated is unacceptable. There is no space in government for those who use their position in a way that could be considered to be abusive,” Dr Muscat said in a statement, adding he had met Dr Mallia and agreed action had to be taken.

Mr Sheehan has been suspended from police and chauffeur duties pending the outcome of a magisterial inquiry.

Top-ranking police officers who spoke to Times of Malta have raised eyebrows over Mr Sheehan’s “cowboy” behaviour, insisting police should only ever fire shots when their or another person’s life is threatened – this did not appear to be the case.

Wednesday’s incident took place at about 9pm after Mr Sheehan dropped off Dr Mallia at an official function, then headed to his mother’s home in Triq Nikola Kottoner, Gżira, until he was needed.

Constable Sheehan heard a loud bang and when he popped out to see what had happened, he realised Stephen Smith, 30, had driven into the minister’s car.

What happened next remains unclear – was this a hit-and-run, or did Mr Smith stop, only to speed off after an altercation?

One neighbour said he had heard a loud argument following the collision, which seemed to imply Mr Smith and Mr Sheehan had shared a verbal exchange before he left the scene.

But in a press conference, Dr Mallia insisted Mr Sheehan had tracked Mr Smith’s car and followed it through the “narrow Gżira roads”.

When they arrived at a “particular place”, shots were fired.

However, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil pointed out Dr Mallia had already been exposed for the “worrying” discrepancies in his version of events.

An official statement released by the ministry on Monday night said Mr Sheehan had fired “two warning shots in the air”.

A mere 12 hours later it emerged that Mr Sheehan had fired three shots that hit Mr Smith’s car.