President Duda meets with lawmakers wanted by the police

The pictures, posted on social media platform X by President Andrzej Duda's office, were the latest salvo in a row that is likely to be one of many conflicts during a period of cohabitation, where the government and head of state are from different political camps.

In 2015, weeks after the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power, its ally Duda issued a pardon to Mariusz Kamiński, allowing him to become interior minister.

Lawyers questioned whether Duda was entitled to pardon him before an appeals court issued a final ruling. The Supreme Court said last year that the case should be reopened.

Kamiński and his deputy Maciej Wąsik were sentenced in December to two years in prison for abuse of power. Media have reported that the police were looking for their former bosses on Tuesday to take them to prison.

According to the post by Duda's office, the president told two new advisers during a ceremony to mark their appointment that "the best proof of your pro-state patriotism is the fact that you have cooperated with Ministers Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik in recent years".

According to many lawyers and the speaker of the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, the December verdict meant Kamiński and Wąsik lost their parliamentary mandates. But both denied that and planned to attend the next sitting.

Duda met Hołownia on Monday to try to convince him his pardon was valid and the court had no right to issue a second verdict in their case, but they did not come to an agreement.

"The sitting planned this week will be moved to next week... there is one reason for this decision - my task is to ensure the dignity of the Sejm and social calm," speaker Szymon Hołownia said.

The parliament had been due to vote on the 2024 budget at this week's sitting. It has until the end of January to send it to the president for him to sign. If it does not do this the president can dissolve parliament.