Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia today was asked by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja in court to present her documents to back up her claims regarding the Egrant allegations.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Ms Caruana Galizia said that she did not provide any documents. When asked whether, following this, she was ordered to do so, the journalist replied "there was no such order, any such order would be illegal," clarifying that she "was there as a witness, not a subject."

Daphne Caruana Galizia was today summoned by the magistrate as part of the magisterial inquiry into the Egrant situation ordered by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last week.

"It is not the job of journalists to give any evidence they come across to the police," explained Ms Caruana Galizia. "Journalists are not required to give information to the police. I'll give you one example, the ICIJ, and those who have full access to the Panama Papers have to sign a watertight agreement not to publish the documents and not to cooperate with any state authorities," she said, "be it the police, be it the tax authorities, be it the court, they are not allowed to cooperate. And there are penalties. The tax authorities and police all over the world would love to have access to the Panama Papers, but they can't. "

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja has started the inquiry about the allegations made by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia that the mysterious Egrant company set up in Panama is or was owned by the Prime Minister's wife Michelle Muscat, an allegation rejected by the Prime Minister.