PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said this afternoon the probable arraignment of the Home Affairs Minister's security driver further confirmed that the minister's position was no longer tenable.
Constable Paul Sheehan is expected to be accused of attempted murder after having fired three shots which hit a car driven by Stephen Smith in Gzira last Wednesday. The Briton's car had earlier knocked the side mirror of the minister's car. It is not known when the arraignment will be made. Mr Smith, a Briton resident in Malta, was initially held under arrest and then released.
Dr Fenech Adami said the Prime Minister had the prerogative to appoint ministers and remove them and he reiterated the Opposition's call for Joseph Muscat to remove Manuel Mallia.
"The Prime Minister has the authority to remove Minister Mallia and needs no inquiry to tell him this. The minister breached the public's trust and he has to go," Dr Fenech Adami said.
He reiterated the claim that there was "a serious attempt to cover up" what really happened when the minister's driver.Constable Paul Sheehan, fired at and hit the car of Briton Steve Smith.
An official government statement on the night of the incident had said the driver fired warning shots in the air.
Dr Fenech Adami said the incident had all the hallmarks of an attempted murder.
Asked whether the PN would present a motion of no confidence in the minister if he did not resign, Dr Fenech Adami said the party would leave "all options open".
When asked whether the PN still had confidence in the Police commissioner, he said: "In his first big test, the Acting Police Commissioner failed."
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jason Azzopardi insisted the attempted cover up was so obvious that gunshot residue was not collected from Dr Mallia's driver and his car.
He said the fact that the Briton's car was moved by the police before the arrival of the duty magistrate, was unheard of and this compromised the criminal investigation.
"The criminal case has been compromised," he said.
Dr Azzopardi said it was uncommon for a shooting suspect to be released from police custody and called back in the morning, as happened in Mr Sheehan's case.