Rezistenza Malta activists erected a protest cardboard cut-out depicting Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as the emperor who has no clothes - based on the fable by Hans Christian Andersen.

The cut-out was erected in the early hours of Tuesday, showing Muscat’s face over a naked body as a salesman for the firm Henley and Partners, which is responsible for the sale of Maltese passports.

The group said that turning Maltese citizenship into a commodity betrays its fundamental worth and few would be ready to purchase it were it not for the access it provides to the EU.

The cut-out was also pasted over a poster that was erected by Labour Youths saying "proud of my politics".