Former editor loses libel suit over ‘wrong conclusion’ to corroborated story

A court has upheld a complaint filed in 2012 by TV presenter Stephanie Chircop against former Illum editor Julia Farrugia and former journalist Karl Stagno Navarra, about a report that she was going to be charged over an attempt to frame her estranged husband.

Chircop was awarded €2,000 in damages after the court ruled that the story published by newspaper Illum was libellous.

Stagno Navarra, as the author of the unsigned story, was ordered to pay €1,800 in damages. Farrugia, as the editor at the time, was condemned to pay the remaining €200.

In 2012, the newspaper had reported that Chircop was due to be charged with filing a false report in which she had allegedly claimed that her former husband, Silvio Scerri, had tried to engage a hitman to kill boxer Scott Dixon, with whom she had also been in a relationship.

The story had alleged that Chircop’s programme on One Television had been axed because of the court case.

In a judgement handed down by Magistrate Francesco Depasquale today, the court observed that while the story had been partially factual and some of the allegations had been corroborated during proceedings, he noted that journalist Karl Stagno Navarro had reached the wrong conclusions in certain instances and could have harmed the presenter’s reputation.

Although the police had confirmed that they were investigating the case, Chircop had not been arraigned.

In addition, no evidence was produced to substantiate the claim that she had been stopped from One Television after being arrested by the police. Chircop was only arrested a year later, the court holding that the story was libellous.