Malta’s police chief has resigned after four years at the helm.
Lawrence Cutajar had been under pressure for months following a number of scandals surrounding the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
He was appointed to the top job in 2016 and had served with the force since 1979, when he joined as a police constable.
The announcement of Mr Cutajar’s resignation was made by Prime Minister Robert Abela on Friday morning.
Assistant Commissioner Carmelo Magri will takeover as Acting Commissioner until a new appointment is made.
Byron Camilleri, who was named Home Affairs minister on Wednesday, took to Twitter to thank Mr Cutajar for his service.
Following Police Commissioner's resignation @MaltaGov will be submitting to Cabinet a proposal for a new mechanism to select a Police Commissioner. This process will increase scrutiny & further strengthen rule of law in #Malta. Thanks to Lawrence Cutajar for his service.
— Byron Camilleri (@byroncamilleri) January 17, 2020
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