An article in daily newspaper In-Nazzjon which alleged that a former Home Affairs Ministry official had interfered in Secret Service matters was libellous, a court ruled today. 

The article, titled 'Arrogance and political interference lead to resignations' and published on August 7, 2014, claimed that former ministry chief of staff Silvio Scerri had meddled in Secret Service affairs and led to the resignation of Mark Galea as deputy head of the secret services. 

In the story, unnamed sources had claimed that Mr Scerri meddled in the Secret Services, which was described as being practically "a Labour Party club". 

Alexander Attard, who was editor of In-Nazzjon at the time the article was published, argued that the article amounted to fair comment since it concerned public figures who were subject to media scrutiny. 

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale noted that both Mr Galea and Secret Services head Michael Cassar had testified that Mr Scerri was "never involved in any decisions or activities within the Secret Service", contrary to what the article alleged. 

Mr Galea had also said that he had resigned due to differences with his superior Mr Cassar. 

Although journalists were the "public watchdog" of politicians and public figures, that role came with added responsibilities, the magistrate said. 

He found that in this case the allegations in the article had not been proven to be substantially true, found Mr Attard guilty of libel and ordered him to pay €4,000 in damages to Mr Scerri. 

Mr Attard incorrectly sued in separate case

In a separate libel case heard before the courts today, Mr Attard was cleared of all charges, as he was not editor of In-Nazzjon at the time the article was published. 

The article, titled 'Paul Sheehan was forced to lie about having fired warning shots', was published on November 24, 2014. 

Mr Attard argued that he was no longer editor at the time and that he was therefore not the party responsible. The court accepted his plea.