The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party can no longer be a member of parliament following a unanimous decision taken at a general conference earlier today.

The change in the statute also includes the stipulation that the Labour Deputy Leader cannot contest a general election until two years after he or she resigns from the post.

The decision to approve this motion comes after former Deputy Leader Chris Cardona was asked to resign from his role after it was alleged that he had paid for the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017.

It had originally been changed to allow an MP to contest an election during the time former Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi wanted to contest the role.

The motion was tabled by the National Executive Committee and approved unanimously by Labour Party members.