PN MP David Thake is suing the Labor media for libel
PN MP David Thake called on the Labor media on a story published on Wednesday in which he alleged that he had reached an agreement with the tax authorities only after his outstanding payments were exposed by the media.
The story, published on the One News online portal as well as by One TV, was entitled “Thake pays only after it is revealed that he has not paid VAT. ”
However, within hours of that publication, the MP announced on a Facebook post that he would be suing One News for libel, claiming that while accepting the fact that “politics can be harsh,” there was a limit to this.
“Enough is enough,” Thake argued.
On Thursday, his lawyer, Andrew Borg Cardona, filed a lawsuit before the Magistrates Court against Edward Montebello as editor, Samuel Lucas as the journalist who wrote the story and One TV.
Statements of fact in history were false and libelous, intended merely to tarnish the applicant’s reputation, they told the court.
Thake appealed to the respondents to make good the damages to be settled by the court.
The allegedly libelous publication followed revelations by the Times of Malta in December that Thake’s Vanilla Telecoms had some € 270,000 in unpaid VAT and was involved in discussions with the Tax Department. Internal on pending account.
Thake confirmed that his company had an outstanding account, which provided a breakdown of sums due as tax, interest and penalties, while pointing out that the company had VAT because it “always scrupulously declared every cent of its sales . ”
In addition, he subsequently asked the Commissioner for Standards to examine whether his company’s actions compromised his position as MP.
Freelance journalism costs money. Times of Malta Support for price of coffee.
Support us