The government has disassociated itself from comments made by the Guardian of the Future Generations, Maurice Mizzi, which have been regarded as being racist.

“Mizzi hit out at irregular immigration into Malta, arguing that Muslims are “taking over” and insisting the country should stop migrants from entering.

In an interview with The Sunday Times of Malta, Mizzi turned to migration while talking about how working Maltese were failing to keep up with the cost of life – he argued that wages remained low because migrants were happy to work for the minimum wage.

“We should stop these people coming from abroad without a passport, with their children and with a different religion,” he went on to say. “We are living in a Catholic country, and when I die, I want to die in a Catholic country. At the moment, there are so many Muslims coming – they’re all having nine babies, next to our two – and they will take over eventually.”

Non-governmental organisations strongly condemned what they described as racist comments.

In a statement today, the Ministry for Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change said it “is disassociating itself with such reported statements, as it is not reflective to the government’s vision including that of the Guardian of the Future Generations. Minister José Herrera has requested an urgent meeting to clarify the situation.”