Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday said he knew the government would probably have lost the vote in Parliament on Labour's immigration action plan had it come to that, but he did not ask for a vote because it would have reduced a national issue to a partisan one. He said the Nationalist Party seemed to have lost its previous unity in Parliament and there was unrest because two or three of its MPs were coming out against the party on every issue.

In his latest statements on immigration, which is now at the top of his party's agenda, Dr Muscat said alarm and tension were on the increase.

Safi residents, he said, now rush to lock their doors whenever they hear a low-flying helicopter out of fear that more migrants have escaped.

Speaking in an interview with l-oriżżont's editor Frans Ghirxi on One Radio, he also touched on the common complaint that immigrants taken to hospital jump the queue because the soldiers accompanying them are in a hurry. He said this was irritating a lot of people especially those in long queues at health centres or hospital.

"Dr Muscat presented his party's 20-point action plan on immigration last week, supporting the government's detention policy but controversially proposing that Malta should consider using a veto in discussions with the EU to force a burden sharing agreement.

Yesterday, Dr Muscat insisted that Malta should not have accepted the EU agreement allowing voluntary burden sharing, likening the voluntary element of the clause to asking people to pay taxes only if they want to.

He also said he was not pleased with the turnout of his MPs at a recent vote on a motion concerning water and electricity bills.

The Labour motion, which stated that water and electricity tariffs were "socially unjust", was defeated by a two-vote majority. Dr Muscat said that while two Labour MPs were abroad on approved parliamentary work, a third parliamentarian, whom he did not name, was unable to make the vote due to a 10-hour flight delay.

MP Chris Cardona confirmed later that he was the one on that delayed flight and that he will be asked to explain his absence.