Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that he would take decisions on the Panama case according to the facts and not what was said by Simon Busuttil.

Reacting to comments made earlier by the opposition leader, the prime minister said that while Dr Busuttil a few weeks had claimed that there was corruption, he had today spoken of 'suspected' corruption.

Dr Muscat said he was examining the facts and reactions to them.

What was certain was that the country would continue to move forward and had their been uncertainty the Opposition would have agreed with the government's proposal for the confidence motion to be debated on Friday, not delayed to Monday.

He was confident the government would emerge from the debate with a strong vote of confidence. As prime minister he would respect Parliament's decision and he hoped Dr Busuttil would too.

In his press conference, Dr Busuttil said that the latest revelations on the Panama Papers were shocking and made the resignation or dismissal of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri even more urgent.

He noted that it had been disclosed that the process for the opening of the Panama companies started days after the general election. And it was revealed that the companies were not really set up for estate planning, as Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri had said, but to handle funds from waste recycling and remote gaming. 

It had previously been said that the companies were set up for management consultancy and brokerage, he noted.

The companies' purpose was changed in an attempt to open bank accounts for them, Dr Busuttil said. Indeed it had been revealed that Mizzi and Schembri tried to open an account in at least seven banks across the world.

Banks that accepted their request demanded an annual deposit of $1 million.

It was also established today that Mizzi and Schembri had actually given their go-ahead for the opening of the accounts.

Dr Busuttil said the harm being caused to Malta was real and not just a risk.

It was for this reason that Parliament on Monday would debate a motion of no confidence in the government.

The motion would express no confidence in the government as a whole because the prime minister had not dismissed Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri but had defended them for seven weeks. As a result he had lost his moral authority.

Dr Muscat’s defence of Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri was so strong that everyone had started suspecting that he might be involved  with them.

Even if he had no personal involvement, Dr Muscat was directly responsible for the two political appointments.  

The issue now was not only about the removal of Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri. They should have gone weeks ago. Now the issue was whether the people trusted Dr Muscat to lead the country.

Hands on heart, can the prime minister be trusted on the basis of the way he acted in this case?

“Hands on heart, can the prime minister be trusted on the basis of the way he acted over this case?”

The country was suffering harmful uncertainty over this case, and yet the police had not intervened, showing how the national institutions were no longer functioning, Dr Busuttil said. They should have seized files and computers long ago.

He said the harm caused to Malta was mostly in financial services, but today gaming was also mentioned. Such harm would not end simply when Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri were gone. The situation had degenerated to the extent that the prime minister had to go.

If the no confidence motion was approved, it did not mean that an early election should be held, Dr Busuttil said. The Labour Party had two years of its mandate to serve, but under a new leader.

On Monday, all MPs would have the opportunity to decide whether to leave the country in the current uncertainty or whether they wanted it to emerge from it.

His appeal to them was to put the national interest first, before any personal or political interest.

Dr Busuttil said he continued to suspect corruption in this case. What was most serious was not only that secret companies had been set up in Panama, but that they had been set up by a minister and a chief of staff after they assumed government posts.

Dr Busuttil said the statements issued today by Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri reflected the state of desperation and panic they were in. The two were no longer believed by the people.

"What they are declaring has nothing to do with the facts which have already been revealed," Dr Busuttil said. 

MIZZI TO SUE

Following the press conference, Dr Mizzi in a tweet said he would sue Dr Busuttil for libel, saying he was champion of politics built on lies.

Dr Busuttil replied that the only paper that Dr Mizzi should sign should be his resignation letter. 

LABOUR HITS BACK

In a reaction, the Labour Party accused Dr Busuttil of hysterics stemming from his lust for power.

It accused his of lying and making personal attacks in an effort to destablise the country.

However he had not substantiated the allegations he made about Azerbaijan and other projects. 

The PL said that under the PN government, no one ever assumed political responsibility, and much needed reforms  were shelved, only to be carried out by the present government.