Nationalist MP Adrian Delia has withdrawn a libel case he instituted against Lovin Malta after the news portal retracted a story it had published about him sending messages to the man accused of masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

In August last year, Lovin Malta had quoted “well-informed sources” as having informed them Yorgen Fenech had boasted to have been texted by the former PN leader during a parliamentary debate on 17 Black, Fenech’s Dubai-based company which was linked to government corruption.

Delia had filed a libel suit the next day, denying the allegations.

In a clarification published yesterday, Lovin Malta declared that it had not verified the information which it had received from a third party. Lovin Malta insisted that they had ascertained that the allegation had been made.

“It should be clarified that the article was not intended to assert that Dr Adrian Delia had been in contact with Mr Yorgen Fenech and it was clearly reported that Fenech had made the allegation to a third party. It is regretted that the article may have been misunderstood as an allegation of wrongdoing on the part of Dr Delia: this was not our intention,” Lovin Malta declared.

The original article has also been amended. In a clarification published yesterday evening, it said that “in the light of this clarification, the libel case instituted against us by Dr Delia is being withdrawn.”