Opposition Leader Alex Borg on Friday called on Prime Minister Robert Abela to publicly guarantee the independence of a police investigation into evidence that emerged during the trial over the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Speaking in Parliament during a debate called for by the Opposition to discuss the Yorgen Fenech trial verdict, Borg referred to the fact that police had been instructed by the residing judge to investigate evidence presented during the jury proceedings and called on the Prime Minister to publicly guarantee the investigation's complete independence.

"I ask the Prime Minister to publicly guarantee the absolute independence of this investigation," Borg said.

The Opposition Leader recalled comments made in Parliament in 2021 by Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield, who had alleged that Caruana Galizia's family had destroyed her laptop after she had been killed. Bedingfield has the police force within his remit, and was a harsh critic of Caruana Galizia and her family both before and after her murder. Borg said that this casts doubt on Bedingfield's ability to ensure an independent investigation.

Borg questioned why the government had accepted the Opposition's request for an urgent parliamentary session while continuing to delay the implementation of the inquiry's recommendations.

"It is ironic how we are doing an urgent parliamentary session yet the government does not consider the public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne as an urgent matter," he said.

Borg noted that five years had passed since the publication of the public inquiry, while nine years had elapsed since Caruana Galizia's assassination. Despite this, he said, justice had yet to be fully served and the reforms recommended by the inquiry remained largely unimplemented.

Responding to criticism that his recent remarks had been partisan, Borg said the Opposition had deliberately refrained from commenting throughout the jury trial despite mounting pressure to do so.

"If I wanted to score political points, I could have commented every single day of the trial, but I didn't," he said. "We chose the most difficult road."

He said the Opposition only spoke after the jury had delivered its verdict, arguing that it was then his responsibility to comment. By contrast, he criticised Prime Minister Robert Abela for remaining silent for an entire day after the verdict before holding a press conference.

"The Prime Minister said a lot of nothing because he did not give a way forward," Borg said.

The Opposition Leader said his party had repeatedly tabled motions calling for Parliament to discuss and implement the recommendations of the public inquiry, but these had consistently been rejected by the government.

"We reconvened Parliament not in the interest of red or blue, but in the interest of the nation," he said, adding that his responsibility was to safeguard the national interest.

Referring to the evidence presented during the jury proceedings, Borg said the Maltese and Gozitan public had been shocked by the testimony heard over several weeks.

"The facts clearly showed the mixing between people in high positions within the Labour Party and the Police Force," he said.

Borg also paid tribute to Caruana Galizia and her family, expressing solidarity with them and acknowledging their continued fight for justice.

"My heart is with this family who is suffering to this day," he said. "In a democratic country, justice is a basic right."

He recalled that the public inquiry had concluded the state had created a culture of impunity that allowed the assassination to occur and had issued recommendations aimed at strengthening anti-money laundering measures and protecting journalists.

"The government doesn't want to hear of it," he said.

Calling for transparency and accountability, Borg said Malta needed the truth to emerge.

"We need a free Malta, we need for the truth to come out," he said.

Borg also argued that recent developments had shed new light on the Prime Minister's decision to call a general election a year ahead of schedule.

"Now we know why an election was called a year before it was due," he said.

Concluding his speech, Borg appealed to the Prime Minister to place the country's interests above party politics, extending what he described as "the hand of friendship" in the national interest.

"We are at a crossroads," Borg said. "Not for me, not for you, not for the red and not for the blue, but for us the Maltese and for us the Gozitans. Choose the right path and come with us, on the side of the people."