24 hours have past and there still has not been any action by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat over his Chief of Staff, Keith Schembri, and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, Opposition Leader Adrian Delia said today.

He was referring to the recent news reports regarding 17 Black.

In a statement, Delia said that by Muscat's own scales - where he said that if it was uncovered that he or his wife owned Egrant he would have resigned - Schembri and Mizzi should be removed given that they had acquired companies in Panama.

Delia said that in the PL's 2013 electoral manifesto, Muscat said that he believed in responsible and accountable politicians, politicians who answer for their actions. "If Muscat truly believes in accountability and cares about Malta's reputation, then he has no other road left to take except to immediately remove Schembri and Mizzi. What is he waiting for? Who is holding him back?"

Yesterday, Muscat said he would wait for the inquiries before taking a decision.

Delia accused Muscat of playing for time, adding that Muscat himself is delaying the court inquiries through appeals.

PL statement

Through his own scales, Delia should resign himself, the PL said.

Delia was the subject of a number of allegations, and his name was tied to criminal acts in a number of articles published by Daphne Caruana Galizia, the PL said. "We will never know the truth about these articles as Delia was always afraid of asking for an investigation."

The PL said that through Delia's words yesterday, "one must wait for the investigations regarding what was said in the media."