Yorgen Fenech left court on Wednesday night to shouts of "assassin", "trash" and "mafia" after a jury cleared him of involvement in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Fenech walked out of the law courts after jurors returned an 8-1 not guilty verdict on both charges he faced.

He was accompanied by his defence lawyers Giannella De Marco, Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Calleja Curran, and escorted from the building by several police officers.

The verdict brings to an end Fenech's long-running trial over allegations that he was involved in the 2017 assassination of Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bomb attack outside her home in Bidnija.

As Fenech emerged from court, a crowd gathered outside shouted insults at the businessman, with some branding him an "assassin" and accusing him of being linked to the mafia.

Fenech had consistently denied any involvement in the journalist's murder.