PM testifies in libel suit

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday told a magistrate he felt insulted with an article on the Labour Party website late last year alleging that he had lied on various occasions.

Dr Gonzi was testifying in a libel case he instituted against the MLP about an article posted on the party's website on November 14, 2007.

Dr Gonzi told Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna that as Prime Minister and leader of the Nationalist Party and also as a politician he felt slandered by the allegations made about him. The allegations on the website were unfounded.

He had been branded a liar over a promise of a breast cancer national screening programme. This was not a lie because the service was promised in the budget for 2008 thanks to new equipment available at Mater Dei Hospital.

The case continues.

Lawyer Joe Zammit Maempel appeared for the Prime Minister.

Lawyer Pawlu Lia appeared for the Labour Party.