Police said the bomb went off while she was driving near the village of Bidnija in northern Malta on Monday afternoon.

Joseph Muscat, the Maltese Prime Minister, denounced her murder as a "barbaric attack on press freedom".

"I will not rest until I see justice done in this case. Our country deserves justice," he said in a televised statement.

Caruna Galizia’s blog, Running Commentary, was one the most widely read websites on Malta and led the investigation of corruption allegations stemming from revelations in the so-called Panama Papers leak.