The Nationalist Party has questioned how Prime Minister Robert Abela can be comfortable with the people around him in light of allegations and revelations that emerged during the Yorgen Fenech trial.

Speaking at a press conference, PN Shadow Minister for Justice, Research and Innovation Joe Giglio said the Maltese public deserved peace of mind that the allegations emerging from the case were being properly investigated.

Giglio pointed to allegations made by Fenech concerning the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, including his claim that former Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri was the mastermind behind the assassination.

He questioned how Abela could be comfortable with Schembri continuing to assist the Labour Party, while also raising allegations that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat knew what was happening.

"In light of all this, how can the Prime Minister be comfortable with the fact that Joseph Muscat gave endorsements to members of his cabinet?" Giglio asked.

He said the latest developments underlined the importance of supporting journalists and implementing the recommendations of the Daphne inquiry.

According to Giglio, these recommendations include stronger protection for journalists, legislative changes to increase transparency in the relationships between government and business, and the regulation of lobbying.

The PN had tabled a motion calling for the recommendations to be implemented, but Giglio said Abela and the Labour Party had opposed it despite everything that had emerged.

Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Security Conrad Borg Manché said the trial had "created more questions than answers", pointing to comments by Judge Edwina Grima that matters which emerged during the proceedings should be investigated by the police.

He said the police must be given all the resources necessary to carry out such investigations, while insisting that the force must operate autonomously and independently.

Borg Manché also criticised what he described as the failure to take the Daphne inquiry's recommendations seriously, five years after the inquiry was concluded.

He accused members of the government and Labour Party of having shown a lack of empathy towards Caruana Galizia and her family.

He referred to what he described as a "hate campaign" against the journalist by the Minister for Home Affairs Glenn Bedingfield, saying attacks against her and her family continued even after her assassination.

Borg Manché also referred to a Facebook post by Abela which, he said, attacked Caruana Galizia's children, and claimed the Prime Minister had said he had spoken to members of the family when they had denied this.

He further criticised comments by Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea, who had expressed doubt over whether Caruana Galizia was murdered because she was a journalist.

Borg Manché also questioned Abela's position towards Labour Party figure Jason Micallef, who had described the erection of a banner reading "Justice for Daphne" outside Parliament as vandalism.

"Is the Prime Minister comfortable with these people around him?" Borg Manché asked.

He said the Opposition would not remain silent and reiterated the PN's call for justice and for the recommendations of the Daphne inquiry to be implemented.