The head of the Divorce Movement, Deborah Schembri, said this morning she agreed that a member of a club should abide by that club's rules but one should always have the opportunity to defend himself.

Speaking during an activity in Bugibba, Dr Schembri, who was, on February 28, stopped from working at the Church's Ecclesiastical Tribunal because of her support for divorce, said that what she was interested in was ensuring that citizens could have the lawyer of their choice representing them.

She said she had discussed the matter with Archbishop Paul Cremona, who told her he understood her position but had no other option but to stop her from working at the tribunal.

She agreed with the opinion of Judge Philip Sciberras, given in The Sunday Times today, that the church feared financial loss with divorce.

"What other reason can there be," she asked.

She added that when one sought an annulment in another country, he was first sent to get a divorce.

People in the audience criticised the messages being portrayed in the billboards of the No Movement.

One shows a child embracing his parents and includes the campaign slogan Flimkien għal Uliedna (Together for our children).

The other shows an alarm clock bearing only the numbers from one to four, flanked by the question Żwieġ li jiskadi? (a marriage which expires?) and the reply LE, grazzi (No, thanks.).

The messages were very insensitive, people in the audiences claimed.

Yvonne Arqueros Ebejer, from Alternattiva Demokratika, claimed that she had cried when she irst saw the billboards, knowing that couples would have worked so hard to save their marriage.

Referring to MPs mixing up religion with this issues, Dr Schembri said that she had not ever heard any MP tell non Christians not to vote for him before an election because he would not be representing them.

MPs were there to represent everyone, she stressed.