Delia calls for investigation into former police chief after Melvin Theuma tip-off claims

Lawrence Cutajar should be immediately investigated over claims he tipped off Melvin Theuma, the middleman in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, of his impending arrest, Adrian Delia said.

The Nationalist Party leader said the former police chief - who was given a lucrative post as the government's public safety and logistics consultants after he stepped down - should have his consultancy terminated and should be subsequently investigated over the allegations.

"Is there a single person in Malta who can supply a reason why Robert Abela should not remove Lawrence Ctuajar from his consultancy post, if he wants to retain a speck of credibility in police corps?" Delia, who was speaking during an interview on NET TV today, asked.

Delia was reacting to a report in The Sunday Times of Malta that Theuma can be heard saying, in a previously unheard audio recording, that he had been tipped off on his upcoming arrest by Cutajar.

Cutajar is expected to be called in to police headquarters in Floriana.

Solution to migration issue lies in Europe

On the migration issue, Delia said that Abela had chosen to endanger lives by allowing groups of migrants to be hosted on tourist boasts outside of Maltese territorial waters.

"The Prime Minister chose to risk lives just to play a [political] card which at the time he felt was populist," he said.

"Government spent who knows how much money [to host the migrants on tourist boats], but then had to reverse this decision," Delia said, of the government's move on Saturday to allow over 400 migrants, who had been stranded at sea aboard cruise boats, to be brought in to Malta.

The PN leader emphasised that a solution to the migration issue could be found through discussions with the EU.

"I invite Robert Abela for us to go to the EU together... the problem cannot solve itself. If we make this into a political issue, the Maltese and our country will suffer, and people can die," he said.

Delia said migrants who found themselves in immigent danger had to be offered asylum, but those who had no asylum right should be repatriated immediately. He also said the country had to be "harsh with traffickers who are playing with people's lives."

"A solution through Europe exists... let's go together to the EU to persuade it to help," he added.