Prime Minister Joseph Muscat does not believe voters have a right to know whether or not he intends to keep Keith Schembri as part of his team should he be re-elected.

PN Leader Simon Busuttil alleged that OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri took kickbacks for the sale of citizenship. Mr Schembri has also been at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, after he opened companies in Panama and the British Virgin Islands.

The Malta Independent asked, during a press conference held at Mater Dei Hospital: “Prime Minister, You have yet to give a straight answer, yes or no, as to whether or not Keith Schembri will be kept on as part of your team should you be re-elected. Do you believe the public have a right to know given everything that has happened?”

In response, the Prime Minister said: “I take decisions responsibly and will carry them after the electoral result. If I lose the election I will resign immediately. If I win and retain the people's trust, I will make my choice and will carry responsibility of those choices.”

He was asked, during the press conference, who he would vote for if he was faced with one party that was shrouded in corruption allegations and another party that he had policy concerns over. “I would base my decision on fact. Facts show that this government has delivered over the past four years and kept its promises. Allegations are simply allegations and are and will remain baseless lies.”

Dr Muscat, asked whether he agrees that the police had to investigate Keith Schembri as per reports regarding an FIAU report, said that he would not comment on a report which he did not see and which was published "dubiously". "In the near future we should have insight as to how this report was done."

As for allegations that his wife owned the Panama company Egrant, Dr Muscat called it “a complete lie,” adding that this lie is what resulted in a European Parliamentary Committee calling him to appear before them.

"When something similar happened to French President-Elect Macron, he said, and no proof was brought forward, it was said that there was no evidence and nothing can happen. When it comes to me there is a witch-hunt based on proof which is falsified, if it ever existed in the first place."

"I look forward to the report of the Magisterial inquiry. If the magistrate finds that I am gulty of one of the allegations then I will leave there and then." He said that PN Leader Simon Busuttil should do the same if the report finds him innocent.