Court rules MP's remarks to be fair comment

A court yesterday ruled that comments made by Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando about the Marsascala mayor during a public debate on the proposed changes to the Sant' Antnin recycling plant were not libellous or defamatory.

Former Marsascala mayor Charlot Mifsud had sued Dr Pullicino Orlando for libel after the MP said Mr Mifsud had wasted thousands of liri in public funds.

Magistrate Michael Mallia noted that Dr Pullicino Orlando had made the comments during a public debate, aired on Super One TV, on September 26, 2005. At the time, the recycling plant was a hot topic as the government was in favour of the plant's upgrading while the Marsascala local council and the Labour Party were against. The air was tense during debate, and it was even described as "hostile".

Dr Pullicino Orlando argued that when he said that the mayor had squandered the money he was referring to the fact that the mayor had appointed consultants to report on the impact of the proposed changes to the Sant'Antnin recycling plant but then failed to use its conclusions during meetings with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The conclusions, he said, showed that the plant would lead to an improvement in the environment and air quality in the area. Yet, Dr Pullicino Orlando added, these conclusions had been discarded for political reasons.

He specified that although, during the debate, he had said "thousands of liri" had been wasted he meant to say "hundreds of liri".

The magistrate noted that in the context of the public debate, the "hostile" environment could have easily led to the mistake being made. However, it seemed that the former mayor's main concern was the part where Dr Pullicino Orlando said that money had been wasted (rather than the amount).

Given the context and the information available to Dr Pullicino Orlando at the time, his comments constituted fair comment, the court concluded.

Lawyer Owen Bonnici signed the writ filed by Mr Mifsud. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta appeared for Dr Pullicino Orlando.