Labour MP Robert Abela said the time has come for a more “hardline” approach on migrants who cause unrest while being kept in detention.

Writing on Facebook, Abela referred to the protest that migrants staged at the Safi detention centre which, he said, “contrasted with the hospitality that we always showed when we welcomed them in our country”.

Abela said Malta always honoured its commitments and did so with compassion and solidarity. “But experience is showing that the time has come for a more hardline position.”

Taking a leaf out of former Italian Minister Matteo Salvini’s book – the Lega leader speaks of defending the security of Italians first – Abela said that the first priority should be that the Maltese and Gozitans feel “tranquil, comfortable in our culture and safe in our country”.