Update 3 | Busuttil: ‘PM must sack Mallia’ • minister’s driver suspended from police force

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Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has demanded the resignation of Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia after Wednesday evening’s incident in which his police escort fired at a Scotsman’s car while giving chase, after the car hit the minister’s parked vehicle.

“He cannot be trusted to oversee the police force. He’s not fit for purpose. If Muscat does not take action, he is weak and an accomplice in another unacceptable incident. People want peace of mind and security but after this incident, people will have not trust in who is supposed to protect them,” Busuttil said.

Busuttil said that unless Muscat sacks Mallia, it will be the PN to take “necessary action” although he did not delve into what action the Opposition could take on the matter.

Busuttil said the “shocking” incident was a matter of concern due to the excessive and disproportionate use of force employed by Mallia’s escort Paul Sheehan, saying that a police escort should have never fired the gun due to the likelihood of a traffic accident.

Ample reasons why Manuel Mallia must go: but @JosephMuscat_JM has lost control over his Ministers.

— Simon Busuttil (@SimonBusuttil) November 20, 2014

“It’s never justified… we do not live in the Wild West here,” Busuttil said.

“It’s a sign of the prevailing ‘anything goes’ attitude’," he said, adding that people associated with Labour believe they are above the law, to an extent that a minister's guard shot at somebody else.

Busuttil also accused Mallia of covering up the details of what really had happened, after it was shown that the ‘warning shots’ first claimed by the government had indeed been fired at the moving car.

“The police have a duty to protect people and Mallia covered up for what was unacceptable behaviour. This is the latest in a series of scandals and people are fed up. The PN wants the whole truth.”

Government press conference

The driver of Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia has been suspended from escort duties after he shot at a Briton who drove into the ministerial car while it was parked in Gzira.

The minister announced the suspension of Paul Sheehan in a press conference convened Thursday, in which government spokesperson Kurt Farrugia was also present.

Sheehan is one of two security drivers deployed with Mallia. Both of them are police officers and they share one weapon between them.

Sheehan has been suspended from a security driver pending the magisterial inquiry.

At 1:31pm, it was confirmed that the Acting Commissioner of Police had suspended Sheehan from the police force.

Farrugia said the reason that the government first issued a statement saying that the driver had fired "warning shots" - when in fact the bullets had been shot at the car - because they were preliminary reports and that there were conflicting accounts at the time of incident.

Farrugia insisted that every home affairs minister has a police escort. "This is the usual procedure."

Mallia said the government was being transparent on the matter but that he could not give any more details due to the ongoing magisterial inquiry. "It was unfortunate incident and it is a pity that are people trying to give a distorted picture of what happened."

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Alternattiva Demokratika deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo also called for the resignation or removal of Mallia. "He should shoulder his political responsibilities as he is ultimately responsible for the actions of his staff. It is simply unacceptable for the police minister's handpicked staff to shoot at people. A serious Prime Minister should have demand the immediate resignation of such a minister. Anything less will mean that it is acceptable for minister's drivers and staff to see themselves above everyone else and untouchable," Cacopardo said.

Escort gave chase

Two shots were fired at a speeding car involved in a hit-and-run with the official vehicle of home affairs minister Manuel Mallia by his driver, police officer PC 553, Paul Sheehan.

The photo published by MaltaToday shows a bullet hole above the rear windscreen, in the car's roof, and another in the rear bumper.

The minister’s car had been parked in Gzira on Thursday while Mallia was, at that time, attending an official function at the police headquarters in Floriana.

The minister’s driver fired two shots at Scotsman Stephen Smith’s Opel Insignia vehicle after it hit the car and then sped away, at around 8:45pm. The driver gave chase.

It was alleged that Smith had been driving under the influence of alcohol, and threatened the minister’s driver with a beer bottle.

In an official statement, the ministry denied media reports claiming Mallia was a passenger in the car.

The ministry said that upon hearing the sound of the impact, Mallia’s driver rushed outside to check what had happened when he realised that the car had been hit and gave chase to the foreigner.

The ministry is claiming that Smith attempted to force the minister’s car, as it gave chase, into a wall in the area of Tal-Qroqq, and that the he threatened the driver with a beer bottle.

Mallia’s driver was then said to have fired “two warning shots in the air” which however, photo evidence shows the bullets lodged inside the car.

Smith escaped from the scene but was later arrested in Msida by members of the Rapid Intervention Unit.

“The man has since been arrested and investigations are ongoing. He has refused to do the breathalyzer test,” the ministry said.

A magisterial inquiry is being held.