This is the leading article no editor ever wants to write. But the Times of Malta has shown throughout its 80-year history that it will not shy away from issues even when they cause pain or are close to the bone.

Nor will it wilt in the face of adversity. Strickland House has functioned through bombing raids and in the wake of a devastating arson attack. It is not about to lose that indomitable spirit now. We owe that to ourselves and to the public we have served with utmost loyalty since the newspapers were set up by Mabel Strickland and her father.

Yet there is no getting away from the fact that our heads are down. Staff at the Times of Malta and The Sunday Times of Malta – from the editors to the page designers – are shocked by allegations made by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in relation to the managing director of Allied Newspapers Ltd, the newspaper’s publisher.

Ms Caruana Galizia is saying she is in possession of evidence that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff has had “leverage through graft” on the managing director. The editorial staff do not know if that is true or not, but following an Allied Newspapers board meeting last Friday the managing director went out on indefinite leave pending an independent inquiry.

While we do not speak for the company – never have, never will – we can say that taking such a position while it seeks to establish the facts was a responsible step. We also know one thing for sure: that the Times of Malta’s structure is unique – certainly in a Maltese context – because the commercial side of the organisation is kept distinctly apart from editorial.

People out there may find this hard to understand, because they are used to the owners of an organisation calling the shots. The Times of Malta has no owners, but rather, a foundation created to ensure the continuation of Ms Strickland’s legacy.

No member of the company’s management, no director, no member of the Strickland Foundation, has any say in the day-to-day decisions made by the editors.

What does this mean in practice? Simply put, it means no member of the company’s management, no director, no member of the Strickland Foundation, has any say in the day-to-day decisions made by the editors. Those decisions are for the editors and the editors alone. Publish and be damned.

This means that no commercial consideration motivates an editorial decision. On the contrary, the company has at times been forced to watch impassively as advertisers pulled out in the wake of an unfavourable report. To the sceptics, just ask anyone who has tried to call a director to get their way in the newspapers. It just will not happen.

This principle applies no less to our political reportage – which is determined solely by the journalists and editors who produce what they consider to be relevant content every day.

Do people within the newspaper have political opinions? Of course they do. Do people within the newspaper take decisions that some readers may disagree with? Of course they do. Do they make mistakes and mess things up sometimes? Of course they do. Is there pressure? Of course there is – from all sides we hasten to add.

But never, repeat never, is an editorial decision imposed by the management of Allied Newspapers Ltd or motivated by a political consideration. Never.

There are some out there, particularly those enjoying watching the Times of Malta being dragged through the mud, alleging that certain stories – on the terrible time Arriva had when it launched its bus service, for example – were motivated by inappropriate political connections.

We have one thing to say about that: Not true. Then, as now, it was the government that required most scrutiny and, yes, most criticism. This will not change whether Labour or the Nationalist Party are in power.

Moreover, the people who make such comments do so from behind a veil of anonymity – unlike the journalists and editors at the Times of Malta (and other journalists) who show their faces and take responsibility for their actions and mistakes.

So to these commenters we lay down the gauntlet: show your faces, voice your opinions, engage with us – we would be only too happy to hold a forum to answer all your queries. Head-on, no holds barred. We have absolutely nothing to hide or fear.

And to our readers we ask for your patience. Yes, it is a trying time. But we will emerge from it. Better, wiser and stronger.