Pierre Portelli is no longer a member of the Nationalist Party Executive Committee, saying that his regular absence from meetings automatically meant that he was quitting the post.

In a letter to the committee president, Alex Perici Calascione, Portelli said that if his intentions to leave had not been made clear enough through his absence, then he wanted to officially resign the post.

"I'm asking you to accept my resignation so that no one will use me to cause damage to the PN in light of recent stories that relate to the time when I was the executive chairman of Media.Link.

"I reserve the right to reply to these stories when I feel it is the right time, however, I don't want people who harbour ill intent to use such stories to damage the party," the letter continues.

Portelli was a close aide to former PN leader Adrian Delia, and for s time was head of the party’s media, a post he resigned in June 2019.

Portelli’s name was mentioned in court when former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri said Portelli used to collect €20,000 a month from Yorgen Fenech, who is now accused of masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Portelli denied the claim, as did Delia.