VIDEO: Fgura Mayor Darren Marmarà claims his family was 'threatened'

Marmarà declared he was disappointed that he had arrived at a point where he could not work with his fellow Labour councillors, and said he had a clear conscience and that he had worked with full honesty as a councillor. He said he would work in Fgura's interests as a Labour member.

He also claimed his family had been "threatened" but did not dwell upon what sort of threats his family had recieved.

In recent days, Marmarà has been reported to have been comparing himself to former Labour minister, the late Lorry Sant, with party activists. Today, PL deputy leader for party affairs Toni Abela spent over three hours with Marmarà, who was told that his actions and the much-published vote of no confidence would only serve the interests of the Nationalist Party.

Marmarà's resignation now paves the way for the probable election of Labour councillor Anthony Degiovanni, who obtained the second highest number of votes.

Labour had declared “in the clearest way possible” that it had lost its trust in the current mayor. “After Marmarà did not give satisfactory explanations for its actions, and after refusing to resign, the PL did not have any other way other than that of presenting a no-confidence motion against Marmarà,” the PL insisted in a three-paragraph statement.

The PL assured Fgura residents that this decision was being taken “for valid reasons in the best interest of the locality”. The PL thanked Mr Marmara for understanding the situation and for his declaration that he was to continue working as a councillor within the PL group.