Joseph Said filed a judicial protest in the First Hall of Civil Court in which he asked a TVM anchor and Public Broadcasting Services Chairman and CEO to retract within four days, comments he held were defamatory.

Mr Said stated that he felt defamed when on Monday, Bondiplus presenter Lou Bondì’s said Mr Said had attacked the government after he did not manage to land the Malta Tourism Authority chairmanship.

He said Mr Bondì had not asked him to comment about the matter prior to the airing of the programme.

Mr Said explained that it was the Prime Minister’s head of secretariat Edgar Galea Curmi who had asked him to start lobbying in order to land the authority’s chairmanship post. He said that he had already refused an offer to chair a semi-governmental entity some months prior to the alleged offer. He had always refused, he said, as he was retired and dividing his time between Malta and the UK.

The judicial protest, signed by lawyer Joe Mifsud, was filed against Mr Bondì, PBS Chairman Joe Fenech Conti and CEO Albert Debono.