The Broadcasting Authority said this afternoon that it had not found PBS guilty of imbalance with the Labour Party.

Yesterday, the PL issued a statement saying that the BA had found PBS newsroom guilty of imbalance with the party in its broadcast of a right of reply the party had demanded.

It said that this decision strengthened its belief that PBS was continuously showing an imbalance with it in its news bulletins and some current affairs programmes.

But editor Natalino Fenech rebutted the PL's allegation, which he said was a blatant lie, and said the station will be taking up the matter with the BA.

The BA said today that at no point did it say in its decision that it had found PBS guilty of imbalance.

It had just concentrated on the PL's complaint regarding the right of reply, it said.

PL's reply

In a statement issued later today, the PL insisted that, in its decision, the BA had found PBS newsroom guilty of imbalance.

It said that its protest had been against imbalance by the newsroom and the BA had found the station in breach of Legal Notice 350.14.

The PL said it was  systematically being excluded from airing its beliefs on the national station.

BA's statement clear - PBS

Contacted for a comment, PBS editor Natalino Fenech said the BA's statement was very clear for those with eyes to see.

The BA's decision follows.