Political leaders called for peace and unity this evening at about the same time as MPs in Parliament engaged in a shouting match about corruption, leading to the suspension of the sitting for a few minutes.

Speaking at the annual Christmas event Milied Flimkien under a tent in Castille Square, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said society should strive to live in peace all year round and not only during the festive season.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil expressed solidarity with those involved in yesterday's attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.  

“My thoughts go out to these victims and their families and those who only want to live in serenity and with peace of mind that they are safe,” Dr Busuttil said.

Echoing similar sentiments, Archbishop Charles Scicluna also appealed for peace, insisting that people should be kind to each other throughout the year and not when Christmas rolls around.

“This year, let’s pray for peace, for violence victims and let's create a culture of peace,” Mgr Scicluna said.

Prime Minister opened his speech by noting that the event was one of very few instances where all the leaders were in agreement.

On yesterday’s brutal killings, Dr Muscat said that such attacks should only serve to unite societies and they should not impact day to day rituals.

“These people want us to abandon our day to day rituals. That's the opposite of what we should be doing. The second we focus on separation, that's when we lose,” he said.

Mesmerised by a speech given to her by Year 5 pupils yesterday, the President decided to not give a message herself but instead handed over pupils from the St Ignatious College in Qormi.

In their message, the students called for more tolerance, asking the leaders to do everything in their power to make sure every person in Malta, irrelevant of their background, was treated with respect.