The Nationalist Party has called for the resignation or the removal of Home Affairs Byron Camilleri for not suspending ex-prison director Robert Brincau when he had been initially accused.

“Byron Camilleri is not fit for purpose,” the PN said in a statement signed by Joe Giglio.

On Tuesday Brincau was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for three years, after he was found guilty of injuring a man and carrying a firearm without a licence at Ghadira Bay in August last year. He resigned from the post soon after the judgment was handed out.

Brincau, 49, took over the directorship of the Corradino Correctional Facility from Lt. Col. Alexander Dalli in 2021.

Christopher Siegersma, who is currently the Commissioner for the Safeguarding and Development of Prisoners, will be appointed as chief executive instead of Brincau.

The PN pointed out how when Brincau was initally charged with the offence, it had already insisted that he should have been suspended until the procedures concluded.

Camilleri had said that one cannot have a vacuum in the leadership of a prison.

“He seemed to want to make everyone believe that there is no one capable of occupying this post not even temporarily,” the PN said.

The PN said that although Brincau has been found guilty and resigned, this does not diminish the wrong decision taken by the Camilleri on the day Brincau was accused.

The PN said that the decision taken by Camilleri not to remove Brincau, reflects the PL culture where “everyone can do whatever they want without suffering consequences and without being held accountable.”

The PN said that a clear indication that Camilleri “is not fit for purpose” is when Prime Minister Robert Abela said that he is “not comfortable” letting his daughter walk alone in Valletta.

The PN added that the demotivation in the Police Force, the Army’s lack of direction and the “collapsed” state of Identity Malta’s systems also all reflect Camilleri’s shortcomings as Minister.