A lawyer appearing for Keith Schembri in a libel case he had filed against The Malta Independent has renounced his patronage of the ex-OPM Chief of Staff.

The announcement was made before magistrate Victor Axiaq this morning, as the libel case, filed over an article published in 2016.

But when the case was called, Schembri did not appear.

His lawyer, Andrew Sciberras arrived five minutes into the sitting. When it was his turn to speak, he informed the court that he was stepping down as Schembri’s counsel.

In the circumstances opposing counsel, lawyer Peter Fenech, said he would wait for the next sitting to see if Schembri succeeded in engaging another lawyer. If he didn’t, Fenech said, they would continue with the case.

The court made it clear that in the next sitting, in any case, final submissions must be made.

The case, filed against Pierre Portelli, David Lindsay and Stephen Calleja, was put off till January 27.