The Broadcasting Authority has ordered Net television to carry a new reply to a news item it carried in June about the voting methods of Labour MEPs.

The Labour Party complained that it had sought a right of reply as soon as the item was broadcast but it was dissatisfied with the way the reply was broadcast.

The BA said its rules laid down that a reply could not be longer than 180 seconds, it could not include comments by the broadcaster and editing could only take place if the content was offensive or defamatory.

The Authority said the reply sent by the PL fitted its criteria. Although it included comments which could be edited, there was no justification for the criteria not to be respected.

"The Authority cannot accept a situation where a station interprets legal criteria according to its convenience" the BA said.

It therefore upheld the PL complaint and ordered Net to broadcast a new reply.

The issue was over the way MEPs had voted during a debate on the Millenium Development Goals. The reply made it clear that the Labour MEPs were against abortion.