Nationalist Party whip David Agius won €2,500 in damages after a court concluded that he had been libelled by an article published in It-Torċa in February 2008.

Mr Agius claimed that the article entitled David Agius: Yes, There Is Corruption In The PN was libellous and he requested the court, presided over by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, to award him damages.

The newspaper claimed that the article consisted in fair information on a matter of public interest and was not libellous.

Mr Agius told the court that he had taken part in a television programme Ir-Realta on Smash TV in which he had said that if there was any rumour of corruption, action had to be taken. The newspaper had however claimed that Mr Agius had said there was corruption within the PN.

In its judgment the court said that a balance had to be maintained between an individual's reputation and the right to freedom of expression. The newspaper had a duty to inform the public of matters of public interest but it could not damage an individual's reputation by saying that corruption existed.

In order for a defence of fair comment to be successful, the newspaper had to prove that the facts in issue were substantially true.

As the newspaper had failed to verify the facts the court ordered it to pay Mr Agius €2,500 in libel damages.