TV presenter Lou Bondi yesterday challenged Labour's education secretary Wenzu Mintoff to a debate on One TV, following a row that erupted between them on Mr Bondi's own show Bondiplus on February 6.
"I would be glad to defend my integrity and record on any one of One TV's programmes. I will come on my own. He can bring along whoever he wants," Mr Bondi said when contacted.
"I put this challenge across to him in the past and he chickened out. Let's wait and see."
The Broadcasting Authority has reprimanded the state broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services Ltd over the talk show, which discussed the resignation of Gordon Cordina as head of the National Statistics Office.
The programme degenerated into a row, characterised by a cross fire of insults and provocations between Mr Bondi and Dr Mintoff who was on the show instead of Labour's general secretary Jason Micallef.
When contacted last night, Dr Mintoff said Mr Bondi had decided to take the debate to court - through a libel suit, and that is where he (Dr Mintoff) intended to pursue the argument.
Mr Bondi, he added, ought to adopt a humbler stance, accept the judgment of the Broadcasting Authority and be more cautious with the PBS which grants him work.
The Labour education secretary said he could not fathom how Mr Bondi could challenge him to a debate and then say he would do it on One TV.
"He should organise the debate himself on one of his media and not expect to come to my 'house'.
"After all, I have said what I had to say to his face, he added."
The BA, in a letter to PBS editorial board chairman John Camilleri, said the accusations made by Dr Mintoff on Bondiplus were unwarranted because he could easily have lodged a complaint with the station and with the authority if he wished to.
At the same time, however, the BA disapproved of the way Mr Bondi confronted the participant, even with comments of a partisan nature. Such comments could create a political imbalance which breached the Constitution.
Mr Bondi said he regretted his reaction to what he termed prolonged personal provocation. "My viewers deserved better," he acknowledged.
However, he said, he was grateful that the BA recognised he had been unjustly attacked. "In fact, I have started libel proceedings against Dr Mintoff and I am sure justice will be done. Dr Mintoff behaved abysmally, unfairly and unethically.
"He was clearly only interested in attacking my integrity and that of the programme."
Dr Mintoff did not make any complaints about the programme but chose the route of personal attack because "he did not have a case or a leg to stand on."
Regarding the subject of the programme, Mr Bondi said the fact that Mr Cordina was attacked personally by MLP spokesmen was fact not opinion, as the research aired on the programme had shown.
Therefore, contrary to what the BA suggests, the question of balance in the programme "promo" was beside the point, he said.
The BA said presenters of public affairs programmes had not only to be impartial but had to appear to be impartial. They should never go into direct confrontation with participants even if they are provoked.
The authority warned PBS that such incidents would not be tolerated, warning it would take action if they were repeated.
On its part, the PBS editorial board said in statement yesterday that it had written to Mr Bondi telling him the programme did no honour to the production itself nor to the station.
The way the discussion was led was not professional, especially when he (Mr Bondi) reacted to the personal attacks by one of the guests by resorting to personal remarks himself.
It said that when things in the political arena got tougher, Mr Bondi would have to direct the discussion in a detached manner in line with the function of a public service.