Updated 9.30pm
The Nationalist Party's administrative council has given a party ethics council two days to look into allegations concerning leadership candidate Adrian Delia.
In a statement issued at 9.20pm, the party said that claims against Dr Delia were serious and required further investigation.
A consultative ethics committee chaired by Louis Galea and with Joe Cassar, Maryanne Lauri and Franz Wirth as members will now meet with Dr Delia and other concerned persons before drawing conclusions and making recommendations to the party's administrative council. Administrative council member Karol Aquilina will sit on the committee as an ex officio member.
The PN statement came following an administrative council meeting held this evening to discuss how to handle claims linking Dr Delia to a prostitution racket in London.
Blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia has claimed that money from a London-based prostitution racket passed through Dr Delia’s bank account at Barclays International in Jersey. The allegations, which he has strongly denied, date back to 2003.
Dr Delia has filed no fewer than three separate libel suits in the past days, claiming that Ms Caruana Galizia is attempting to sully his reputation.
Current PN leader Simon Busuttil declined to comment as he exited PN headquarters and instead referred reporters to the party statement.
Delia questions meeting's validity
Speaking earlier in the evening, Dr Delia questioned the validity of the meeting.
"I don't know who called the meeting. I don't know if there was a formal letter. I don't know if the party statute has been adhered to. The [party's] electoral commission, which is not meeting, is the only organ empowered to oversee and safeguard the electoral process," he told reporters shortly after 7pm.
Dr Delia was spotted entering the PN headquarters shortly before 6pm to appear on a NET TV program.
He reappeared in the headquarter's foyer at around 7.30pm to rapturous applause, telling supporters that they had to keep the party's "real enemy" in mind.
"The real enemy of the PN is outside of the party - it is the other party," he said.
Dr Delia said he had no knowledge of what was being discussed during the administrative council meeting and said he had "absolutely not" spoken to the party leadership.
Ms Caruana Galizia's claims, he said, were lies.
"Spin fizzles out, liars get caught out. The truth prevails," Dr Delia said, adding that anyone who thought they could come up with stories during an electoral process "won't get away with fooling people once again."
The comment drew an outburst of applause from fans of Dr Delia standing around him.
No comment from Busuttil
Current leader Simon Busuttil and deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami declined to speak to reporters as they entered the party headquarters.
Newly-elected MP Hermann Schiavone, who is backing Dr Delia in the leadership race, told reporters he did not think the meeting should have been called during the leadership election and disagreed with the party's decision to announce it via press release.
"This was a mistake. Things could have been done better," he said.
READ: Delia dismisses Caruana Galizia's 'tales'
Chaired by MP Karol Aquilina, the administrative committee comprises the head of each branch of the party and a number of officials. However, outgoing treasurer Alex Perici Calascione, one of the four candidates, will not be attending to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
Supporters of Dr Delia watch him on live TV as they wait for the administrative meeting to end. Photo: Ivan MartinREAD: One of these four men will be the next PN leader
Correction: PN assistant secretary general Jean Pierre Debono will be attending the meeting, contrary to a previous version of this article which indicated he would not.