Former Chief Justice and Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino has come to the defence of Magistrate Gabriella Vella after she was harshly criticised by Prime Minister Robert Abela over the timing of her conclusions of the magisterial inquiry into the Vitals deal.

Abela has said that the conclusion of the inquiry came just before an election to cause as much harm as possible to the Labour Party. Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who now stands charged with, among other things, fraud and money laundering, following the conclusion of the Vitals inquiry, had repeatedly tried to have the magistrate removed from conducting the investigation.

In comments to Times of Malta, Said Pullicino, who had sat on the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry, said he had relayed a message of solidarity and support to Magistrate Gabriella Vella during the "extremely trying and difficult times she has been and still is unjustly passing through".

"I underlined that it is the destiny and duty of judges and magistrates to bear in silence and serenely the grave injustices they are subjected to at the hands of those who should know much better. I stressed that she should find comfort in the conviction that she has performed her arduous task without fear or favour, with commendable courage to the best of her ability.  She has been an example to many while continuing to underscore and strengthen the Courts as the ultimate and strongest bastion of democracy in the country," he told the newspaper.

"It is the Courts that, through their decisions and judgements, guarantee the rule of law and secure justice for all, ensuring that everyone without exception is held accountable for his/her actions. Not through the verdict of any people's tribunal, even if expressed in a popular vote, however wide the margin," the former chief justice said.