The Nationalist Party will take the matter into its have if the government failed to heed its call for an independent inquiry on the visa scam scandal, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said this afternoon.

“If the government keeps refusing our request, the Opposition will take steps against the government, as we want to disclose the facts behind this scandal,” Dr Busuttil said. The PN leader, however, did not elaborate further on the nature of these measures.

Dr Busuttil sounded his warning during a brief interview on a Net Television telethon which is raising funds to modernise the party's media facilities.

The scandal came to light in court last month. Former Labour Party treasurer Joe Sammut was arraigned to court and charged over his alleged involvement in the issuing of fraudulent visas. During court proceedings it emerged that Mr Sammut was helping Libyan nationals acquire residency in Malta through the creation of fictitious local businesses.

Dr Busuttil siad Mr Sammut’s alleged involvement was just "the tip of the iceberg” and that corruption was widespread. He noted that the extraordinary high number of residency permits issued last year (14,000), which eclipsed the number of migrants that had reached Malta during an entire decade, fuelled suspicions of widespread corruption and fraud in the system.

“For this reason we will keep harping on an independent probe, as we do not trust the government,” he said.