A pressure group has condemned Keith Schembri's refusal to meet a visiting cross-party MEP delegation alone, saying he had a duty to speak out and answer questions.

#OccupyJustice was referring to a controversial visit by MEPs on Friday probing Malta's rule of law. Mr Schembri was present for the same meeting with the Prime Minister at Auberge de Castille but refused to meet the parliamentarians separately as they had requested.

Mr Schembri cited the ongoing judicial inquiry as the reason for not answering the MEPs' questions.

"This is nothing but an unfounded and pathetic excuse – no judicial proceedings can stop anyone legally from speaking out. If anything, the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister has a duty to speak out and answer questions about his behaviour. What is Mr Schembri hiding? And why is the Prime Minister protecting him?"

It accused the government of once again showing that it measures itself with a different yardstick than it measures its critics.

After Friday's meeting, #OccupyJustice urged the public to convene in Valletta on Sunday to attend a protest organised by the Civil Society Network.

"We must keep on asking for justice to be done and seen to be done."