Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that he will not take any action until confessed murderer Vince Muscat il-Kohhu identifies the minister who was involved in a “big job” that allegedly also involves former Economy Minister Chris Cardona.

The claim emerged in court this week as Muscat continued to testify against the Degiorgio brothers – his alleged accomplices in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Muscat had already alluded that a senior politician was involved in a botched heist on HSBC in 2010.

Now il-Kohhu has been granted a pardon over his involvement in the 2015 murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in return for revealing all he knows. The premise here is that the police believe the information he is giving them, else they would not have recommended that he be pardoned.

It is the same concept that applies for pardoned Daphne murder middleman Melvin Theuma. We have to presume that the testimony he has given and continues to give in court is credible. This is the main condition for the granting of his pardon – the truth and nothing but the truth.

Now it is already hard to fathom why certain allegations made by Theuma have not been probed by the police, and why certain individuals have not been arraigned yet. We cannot see the same happening with the allegations being made by Muscat too.

In this new development concerning il-Kohhu, things might be a bit more complex since it seems that he has so far refused to name the politician he referred to in court.

This is not on. Muscat cannot, and should not be allowed to tease like this. If he knows that a politician was involved in a serious crime, he should divulge all the information he has. If he does not, his pardon should be revoked.

But there is more to this than the information the police need to pry out if Muscat. There is also the political angle.

Abela cannot just stand idly by and wait until the day when Muscat decides to name and shame this sitting minister.

The Prime Minister has asked the police commissioner to get this information from Muscat, but in the meantime, how can he attend Cabinet meetings without asking his ministers, individually, whether they were involved or not in a crime? One of the people sitting across the table from him could have a criminal connection, and the PM cannot act as if it was business as usual.

Abela should have summoned his entire Cabinet, one by one, the second the claim emerged, and asked each of his ministers whether they have anything they wish to tell him.

He cannot wait for the police to find out who this minister is. What happens if they don’t find out? What happens if Muscat decides to remain silent?

Abela has already taken too long to act against Rosianne Cutajar – he was reluctant to take steps even when the allegations against her grew more and more serious. He cannot afford to have in his Cabinet someone who is potentially linked to a serious crime involving some of the most notorious gangsters Malta has to offer. He must act now.

And if there is indeed a minister who was involved in crime, then he or she must come clean at once and save the Labour Party, the government and the country the embarrassment and scandal.