“The report in the media of an assault on and the attempted intimidation of journalist Dr Claire Bonello by Charles Polidano provokes the contempt of all who consider those who strike women to be thugs,” said Alternattiva’s Harry Vassallo.

“The fact that the woman in question is a journalist, and that the assault took place in front of her children and others, adds significantly to our condemnation,” he added.

‘The macho culture that exonerates males for violence to women because of verbal provocation is a repulsive remnant of our past. It is no excuse in law and it is no excuse of any kind.”

“People who have a problem resisting the urge to violence when verbally provoked should acknowledge their responsibility and if necessary seek professional assistance, Dr Vassallo added.

“Referring to Mr Polidano as a ‘baruni’ is incorrect only because he could never have made any claim to nobility” he said. “Dr Bonello should have been more direct and explicit and referred to Mr Polidano as the country’s most notorious contravenor of planning laws. It is a fact established in documentation of the public authority regulating Mr Polidano’s principal business activity,” he added.