Former Sliema Mayor Joanna Gonzi said this evening that she did not recall making the sort of statements about councillor Martin DeBono's mother which the Labour media said today that she had uttered.

Such statements, Dr Gonzi said, were not in her character and she could not recall ever having said anything of this nature about a person whom she had never even met.

"I have reasons to suspect that this is a case of falsification and manipulation of a recording, made for political purposes in order to undermine my integrity," Dr Gonzi said.

She warned she could take legal action.  

In a reaction, One News said the recordings it was broadcasting were totally authentic, and more would be broadcast in the coming hours.

"One News denies in the most absolute manner that the broadcast recordings were tampered with in any way, as Joanna Gonzi is alleging," the broadcaster said. 

It said Dr Gonzi had wished that the mother of the Sliema minority leader would suffer a heart attack.

Dr Gonzi was in panic because of the gravity of her declarations, and was trying to deny her own words, One said.