Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil today filed four libel suits against the General Workers’ Union newspapers it-Torca and l-orizzont, and Labour Party media One Radio and One TV following “unfounded and slanderous” stories about him.

The story carried by it-Torca entitled “Rikatt abusiv Nazzjonalista” (An abusive Nationalist blackmail), published yesterday, and in which it is alleged that Dr Busuttil met Joe Gaffarena before the last election to blackmail him “is a lie from start to finish”, Dr Busuttil said.

“It is a pure invention without a crumb of truth. The same goes for the features on One TV and One Radio, as well as the Orizzont follow-up story. I filed libel suits for truth to win against the Labour Party’s lies,” Dr Busuttil said.

“I am proud that I had the courage to say no to Gaffarena when I met him before the election on his own request, and asked me to issue a permit for the illegally-built petrol station.This is proof that I do not only believe in clean politics, I also act upon it.

“It is just because I said no that Gaffarena went to the Labour Party, a spineless party who gave him all he requested. Under a Labour government, Gaffarena gets what he wants: from a permit to operate a petrol station built illegally to millions of euros for half a house in Old Mint Street. And were it not for independent media who uncovered the stories, the same would have happened on the Valletta police station. This is institutionalized corruption,” Dr Busuttil said.

 

“In their panic on the scandals linking Castille to the Gaffarena and Zammit families, the PL is lying about me to deflect attention. This move will fail because it is built on a lie. I filed the libel suits because I am not afraid of the truth,” he concluded.