The Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) board of directors yesterday ruled against a decision taken earlier by the PBS editorial board to grant the Malta Labour Party a two-minute spot on BondiPlus to explain the party's proposals.

The spot was going to be shown after MLP secretary general Jason Micallef wrote to the PBS editorial board to protest against the “shameless bias” shown against the Labour Party during last Monday’s edition of BondiPlus, in which MLP deputy leader Charles Mangion and finance parliamentary secretary Tonio Fenech took part.

The Labour Party said yesterday Mr Micallef’s letter was replied to by the PBS editorial board’s acting chairperson, Mary Ann Lauri, who said the editorial board had concluded that the Labour Party should be given a remedy.

The two-minute spot which had been allotted to the Labour Party was to explain proposals the MLP is making, and would have included a table showing how much the proposals would have cost.

The Labour Party said yesterday that the PBS editorial board’s decision meant the MLP was right when it said that the BondiPlus presenter could not be believed when he said he could be impartial in his programmes when these discussed political subjects.

However, the PBS board of directors yesterday evening ruled that the MLP secretary-general’s letter should have been addressed to the Station Editor, and not to the Editorial Board.

Therefore, the board said, the decision taken by the PBS Editorial Board was in effect “null and void”.