The PN has demanded the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg after an appeals court ruled that the swimming pool in his villa was built illegally.

An appeals court presided by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti on Wednesday ruled that the Planning Authority should not have granted a permit to Borg and his wife Rachelle Borg Dingli for them to build a pool and ancillary facilities at their home in the hamlet of Santa Katerina in Rabat.

Following this ruling, the PN issued a statement stating “that the Minister should take political responsibility and resign.”

“Despite Borg being responsible for the Planning Authority and being aware that the permission was being contested in the Courts, he still proceeded with the development of the pool,” the PN said.

“The PN recalls that this development was already surrounded by serious doubts after even the Ombudsman's Office had said that the application was made "in a devious manner" and after the Court had already discredited Borg's version of how he acquired the land abusively from a vulnerable person,” the PN said.

The PN went on to add that, “once again, the Maltese Courts have slammed the government and the Planning Authority, after this latter issued a permit for yet another development that goes completely against the local plan and the Authority's very own planning policies for the area which clearly state that swimming pools are not permissible.”

“While maintaining that Borg should resign, the PN insists that the Planning Authority should be an independent authority that doesn’t allow interference in its operations.”

The statement was signed by the PN’s spokesperson for planning Stanley Zammit.