Although the possibility of extremists arriving in Malta as irregular immigrants by boat could not be excluded, the possibility was somewhat farfetched as these people had means to get to their destination without risking their life in the process, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said this evening.

Speaking on Times Talk, the minister said extremists were taking the opportunity of the lack of uncertainty in Libya to set up base in the country.

However, although one could not exclude the possibility of such extremists coming to Malta on boats with irregular migrants, this possibility was a bit farfetched as these people had better means of getting where they wanted to go without risking their lives on a dinghy.

Mr Abela said that although the possibility could not be excluded, it was very remote.

Asked what was the government doing to mitigate risks, Mr Abela said Malta shared intelligence with other countries, primarily Italy, and so far there was nothing to show that Malta was at risk.