Just five of the Labour MPs contacted by The Sunday Times of Malta believe Manuel Mallia should stay on as Home Affairs Minister after the political mayhem sparked by his driver’s shooting incident.

However, two of these felt that if the independent inquiry found that Dr Mallia attempted to interfere or cover up what happened, then his head should roll. Another five of the 26 MPs contacted believe Dr Mallia should resign as the maelstrom was dragging the entire government through the mire.

The rest of the MPs – except for three who did not wish to comment – echoed the Prime Minister’s stand and said they preferred to wait for the independent inquiry’s outcome before passing judgement.

All 39 MPs, except for the Prime Minister and Dr Mallia, were contacted but 11 failed to answer the phone – despite repeated attempts – or reply to numerous text messages.

This exercise, conducted between Friday and yesterday, was an attempt to gauge the level of support Dr Mallia enjoyed from his parliamentary colleagues.

The November 19 incident has dogged Dr Mallia and the government with constant media revelations punching holes in the government’s original version of events and exposing damning details.

The latest revelations emerged from transcripts of telephone conversations released by the Nationalist Party media on Friday night. According to the PN, these show that Dr Mallia, the Police Commissioner and the Office of the Prime Minister were immediately aware that the minister’s driver, Paul Sheehan, had not fired warning shots but expressly targeted the car of Scotsman Steve Smith.

One MP felt the situation was embarrassing the government so Dr Mallia should step aside. Another two believed the minister should have stepped down immediately and spared the government and his own political career from the public backlash.

If we’re going to be waving the card of political accountability then we’d probably have half the Cabinet resigning

If the independent inquiry – being carried out by three retired judges and expected to be handed to the Prime Minister tomorrow – exonerated him of any wrongdoing, then he could return – but otherwise, political morality dictated he should go.

One MP was critical of the way the situation was handled and how each day led to disclosures that expounded the mess. Dr Mallia, this MP felt, had no choice but to resign.

However, another MP defended the minister and asked whether he should be blamed for his driver’s behaviour when he was not the one who pulled the trigger. “If we’re going to be waving the card of political accountability then we’d probably have half the Cabinet resigning. If Manuel Mallia didn’t interfere in the investigation then he should stay,” the MP said.

Overall the MPs who commented were reluctant to express their opinion because they said they did not have all the facts, except what had been revealed in the media reports. Some felt their personal opinion was “irrelevant” and they would “bow their head” to the inquiry’s conclusions.

Another MP said: “It’s easy to say a person has cancer and to question why it wasn’t spotted before, but there is always more to the story than what meets the eye. No decision should be rushed and we should await the inquiry’s outcome.”