Judge orders author to pay Lm2,500 in damages to minister

Glenn Bedingfield was ordered to pay Education Minister Louis Galea Lm2,500 in libel damages after a judge ruled that allegations made by him in a book he wrote clearly showed he acted out of malice.

Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo found that extracts from Mr Bedingfield's book Il-Hbieb tal-Hbieb (Friends of Friends) were libellous.

In the book, Mr Bedingfield, a former journalist, quoted the diary of Italian national Ciro Del Negro referring to drug trafficking from a Mosta office.

Mr Bedingfield argued that his book contained reproductions from Mr Del Negro's diary, adding that this was faithful reporting in the interest of the public.

However, the judge noted that in his diary, Mr Del Negro did not say he had seen Dr Galea at the Mosta office.

Mr Bedingfield's work did not constitute faithful reporting because the reference made to Dr Galea was based on a false allegation.

This was not honest and responsible journalism but was clear proof of the malice aimed at tainting Dr Galea and was not carried out in the public interest, the court ruled.