Not everyone has forgotten that, when the Nationalist Party was in government, Joe Vella Bonnici – then a regular contributor to the Times of Malta’s opinion pages – used to harp on about the “political responsibility” of certain prominent Nationalist politicians who were indirectly involved in certain scandals. Since what is good for the goose is also good for himself, one should ask Vella Bonnici, now executive chairman of Identity Malta, why he did not hand in his resignation following the arrest of a number of Identity Malta employees after a surprise raid at the agency’s offices in Valletta.

Since any person is assumed innocent until proven guilty, what one can say about the matter is that he has proven to be singularly incompetent in the execution of his public duties, the more so since, in an age of militant religious terrorism, there is national security at stake.

Since Prime Minister Joseph Muscat stated that the government was seriously intent on eradicating abuse “without looking at anyone’s face” – and this is as things should be – one now expects him to take action by expelling Mr Vella Bonnici from office.