Felix Agius, the editor of the Labour Party’s weekly newspaper Kulhadd, was yesterday found guilty of libel and ordered to pay one of the three directors of media company Where’s Everybody Lm2,000 by way of damages.

PJ Vassallo filed a libel suit against Mr Agius and the newspaper over an article entitled Where’s Everybody jaharbu (Where’s Everybody escape) which was published in the 9 December 2001 edition.

The court, presided over by magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, ruled that allegations made in the report were unfounded and defamatory and ordered Mr Agius to pay Mr Vassallo Lm2,000 by way of damages.

In another court judgement handed down in 2004, a court had ordered Mr Agius to pay the other two directors of Where’s Everybody – Peppi Azzopardi and Lou Bondì – Lm3,000 by way of damages in connection with the allegations contained in the same article.