PN: Byron Camilleri must resign, as silence persists on alleged identity card racket

The Nationalist Party has called for the resignation of home affairs minister Byron Camilleri in the face of an illegal identity cards racket implicating thousands of non-Maltese residents.

MPs Darren Carabott and Ivan Castillo said Camilleri had been silent in the face of the accusations by former MP and lawyer Jason Azzopardi, who alleges around 18,000 ID cards could have been issued using fabricated documents by Identità officials since 2015. This resulted in suspicions of false addresses being given as part of an ID cards scam.

“Camilleri cannot remain silent in the face of everything that is happening in his Ministry,” the MPs said.  “The major problems brewing at Identità Malta have come to light, exposing the disarray in Byron Camilleri’s ministry.”

Darren Carabott (left) and Ivan Castillo (right)

The MPs said that hundreds of people had received correspondence at their property with names they don’t even know, causing concern among residents, particularly the elderly and the vulnerable.

“In the face of all this, Byron Camilleri’s absolute silence continues, with his last statement of reaction being at the end of last month, where he barely responded to Azzopardi's request for an inquiry into 18,000 false identity cards,” Carabott said.

“The deafening silence from Robert Abela’s government continues with the fact that over 24 hours have passed since the Nationalist Party requested the publication of the scientific survey on the labour market, as promised. This comes after Abela and Clyde Caruana bombarded our country with cheap labour workers but now claim they are not needed.”