Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last night visited the grave of Raymond Caruana, the young Nationalist activist gunned down 30 years ago. 

The Prime Minister placed flowers at the foot of the grave in memory of Caruana, then 27, who was killed on the night of December 5, 1986, when unknown assailants fired 13 machine gun bullets at the Nationalist Party's new club in Gudja.

Dr Muscat has long maintained that the murder of Caruana and Karin Grech were a stain on Malta's past as he underlined the importance of unity to ensure history does not repeat itself, a statement from the Department of Information this morning said. 

"The Prime Minister felt it was the right time to honour a victim of a deplorable act which pertains only to the past," the statement said. 

The Prime Minister had met with the Caruana family when he was still serving as Opposition leader. 

The murder remains Malta's only direct political killing, and marked a low point in contemporary Maltese history.

At the time, Pietru Pawl Busuttil was accused of the murder after the weapon was planted in his Safi farmhouse. He was later absolved of all accusations with the court confirming he was the victim of a frame-up.