Adrian Delia and Jonathan Attard clashed in their first face-to-face debate since the conclusion of international arbitration between Malta and Steward Health Care, during a Times Talk episode filmed on Wednesday.

Throughout the fiery debate, the pair butted heads over who emerged on top in the arbitration proceedings, whether the government could have pursued a different legal route, and what the tribunal actually said about a €400 million sum supposedly stolen by Steward.

Armed with a stack of meticulously annotated documents in hand, almost certainly the various court sentences, reports and rulings handed down throughout this multi-year saga, neither Attard nor Delia held back once the cameras were rolling.

Attard was speaking as justice minister while former opposition leader Delia waged a lengthy legal campaign that ended with a court annulling all contracts awarded to Steward and its predecessor Vitals Global Healthcare.