Josef Grech and Doreen Spiteri yesterday denied plagiarising a book on titular statues in Malta and Gozo.

Author Joseph Mary Grech claimed in court last week that Josef Grech took advantage of the similarity in their names and published a book bearing the exact same title as his work Vari ta` Malta u Għawdex, published in 1998. He said the new book contained the same content and 80 scanned photos from his original work.

However, in an official reply filed in court yesterday, Josef Grech and Ms Spiteri, in their personal capacity and on behalf of Dom Communications Ltd, said they had no connection with Joseph Mary Grech or his book. They demanded that he withdraw his claims or face legal action.