Former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff was admitted to Mater Dei Hospital this evening and later placed in intensive care.

Sources said Mr Mintoff, 94, was rushed to the emergency department this afternoon after he fell ill at home in Tarxien.

Informed sources said his medical condition was serious.

The Department of Information said he has been kept in hospital for tests and observation.

Mr Mintoff was an MP for half a century until 1998 and was Prime Minister between 1955-58 and 1971 to 1984.

The Labour Party sent its best wishes to Mr Mintoff and said it was closely monitoring the situation. His condition, it said, was stable. Party leader Joseph Muscat visited Mr Mintoff in hospital late in the evening.

The PL said it was joining the family in urging the public to respect Mr Mintoff's privacy and not to call at Mater Dei.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.