PN Leader Adrian Delia has thrown the gauntlet down on Prime Ministerial hopeful Chris Fearne, laying into the Deputy Prime Minister during a political activity for failing to understand the basic tenets of the rule of law.

“Chris Fearne still hasn’t understood the rule of law because he is saying that when he’s Prime Minister, he would investigate a lot of people as if he has that power. He even says he would investigate me,” Delia told the audience at Tarxien’s PN Club.

“You shouldn’t have to wait to become Prime Minister to do that. You can write to the Police Commissioner today and ask that I be investigated. Do it. I’m not corrupt. I didn’t launder money. I’m not afraid. If you want to see justice done, do it with facts and not with empty words,” he continued.

He sharply criticised Fearne for pledging to take action once he became Prime Minister when he stood silent over the last few years despite being Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister.

Delia then revealed that he has already asked his legal team to pursue action against Nexia BT’s Karl Cini for his role in the Egrant Inquiry.

The inquiry suggested that Cini may have committed perjury in the Egrant inquiry over the number of offshore companies he set up and the failure to disclose a package he received from Keith Schembri’s British Virgin Island account. The Police Commissioner was ordered to investigate, with Cini insisting that discrepancies were simply misunderstandings.

While the extent of Cutajar’s investigation is unknown, Cini was interrogated by the police for several hours on 23rd August 2018.

Delia’s criticism of Fearne did not stop there, questioning his environmental credentials, namely the proposal to plant trees in village squares across all of Malta.

Robert Abela, Fearne’s opponent in the race, was not saved from criticism, with Delia saying that the government would continue as usual, with no significant change set to take place under his potential leadership.