Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said this evening that the last thing the Nationalist Party needed was to be abandoned by its leadership.

Replying to questions on TimesTalk, Dr Busuttil said reports about internal pressure on the leadership in the wake of last Saturday’s European Parliament results was speculation by the press.

He said that in such a difficult time for the party, the easiest thing for him to do was to surrender and run away. But he would not do so.

“Last year I decided to dedicate myself to the service of the party. The easiest thing after such a difficult result was to give up but, because I love the party, I will not run away. This is the time for me to redouble my efforts.

"The last thing the PN needs is to be abandoned by its leadership.”

Dr Busuttil also pointed out, as he did in comments in the morning, that this was an European election, not a general election and the rebuilding of the PN was a project that would take several years.