Updated | After Kamara murder, Muscat talks of being strong with EU on migration

Adds statement by PN.

Opposition leader Joseph Muscat has stood by proposals his party had made back in 2009 "to face up to illegal immigration" - which included the controversial suspension of international obligations - in the aftermath of the death of a Malian asylum seeker while in custody of the Armed Forces' Detention Services unit.

In a statement from the Labour party on an interview Muscat have to One Radio on Tuesday morning, Muscat said Labour's 'action plan' on immigration had been discarded by government and said the new inquiry by Judge Geoffrey Valenzia ordered by the prime minister should reveal the shortcomings of the current detention policy.

However Muscat said the state should have a "strong and clear attitude" with EU politicians and technocrats who "have left the country without any help".

"We must see clearly how these detention centres are being administered, with respect to the AFM officers who are carrying out an important and humanitarian service with the immigrants, and use education to face up to every single element of racism."

Muscat's declarations provoked a reaction by the Nationalist Party, in a statement issued by communications director Frank Psaila who accused the PL of harbouring "more extremism".

"Just days after the death of a Malian national, Muscat is insisting that the government adopts 'recommendations' he proposed in 2009 on irregular immigration, amongst them the suspension of international obligations where necessary. This is a 'recommendation' that puts in peril the lives of men, women and children out at sea. Muscat should be ashamed of himself. He insists on being a populist," Psaila said.

Psaila said the PN's position on irregular immigration was that people's lives had to be saved and the right to asylum guaranteed, and defended the government's "politics of persuasion" with its European counterparts for more assistance.

Muscat also said Lawrence Gonzi had to appoint somebody responsible for home affairs in the current state of affairs.

The prime minister took up home affairs since the resignation of Carm Mifsud Bonnici.

Muscat once again also accused Lawrence Gonzi of being taken by his party's internal problems instead of focusing on families' and businesses' economic concerns. The Labour leader said the prime minister was giving priority to his party clique's interests because he wanted to hold on to power, at the expense of the electorate's concerns.

"You can see it in the way the debate on the European Stability Mechanism is being carried out in the House. The treaty allows member states to ask for financial assistance if an impending crisis would be detrimental to the rest of the eurozone. Malta's small size raises doubts of whether we would even qualify for European financial help," Muscat said.

"Labour MPs are demanding a guarantee that the ESM does not work against the country's national interest," Muscat said.

"The reason we are in recession is that GonziPN's government could not foresee what was coming. It's yet another sign of incompetence when one sees the rate of national debt climbing the way it has. Interest has increased by €5 million in six months, which means we're paying more for our debt than we have on education."

Muscat said Labour plans to reduce the deficit by encouraging private sector investment, and incentivise public-private partnerships.

Following a decrease in fuel prices, Muscat also insisted that the reduction had to go further according to the party's own analysis of the market. "Using government's argument that the last consignment entered in June and not more recently, the reduction would still have been gone further than that announced by the resources authority."

Muscat turned to the resignation of Richard Cachia Caruana, whom Gonzi has praised for his role in the Air Malta bailout negotiations with the European Commission, saying Cachia Caruana had also been one of the airline's directors during the questionable purchase of the RJ-70s fleet and the Azzurair partnership. "Financially these decisions broke Air Malta," Muscat said.