David Thake wins €1,000 libel case against One TV over Wi-Fi contract claims

One TV editor Aleander Balzan has been ordered to pay €1,000 in damages to PN candidate David Thake over a 2015 news bulletin report deemed by a court to be defamatory.

The report aired on March 17, 2015, casting doubt upon the 2011 contract acquisition by Vanilla Telecoms to provide a Wi-Fi system to the Institute for Tourism Studies.

Thake, as chairperson of Vanilla Telecoms, took offence the statement: “It is curious and not normal that the permanent secretary of education and direct orders within the finance ministry gave a contract of nearly €52,500, that could continue rising to €56,600, simply through a direct order.”

This led him to open libel proceedings against the TV station.

In an affidavit presented in the records of the case, Balzan, claimed that the permanent secretary within the education ministry did not normally award such a substantial contract simply on the basis of a direct order, and that experienced civil servants had explained that such a contract would have required various approvals.

He also argued that in January 2015, ITS had chosen a different, cheaper Wi-Fi service, described by a student as “satisfactory”.  

The court, presided by magistrate Francesco Depasquale, noted that One TV had failed to provide any further evidence to support the allegations other than Balzan’s affidavit.

“The court expected that, at the very least, the accused would have presented the parliamentary question that was the basis for the report,” the court said.

The Court noted that the evidence presented by Thake clearly show that the company was given a contract after all procedures were followed and after his offer, from a total of four offers, was found to be the most advantageous one for the requested service.

In his judgement, finding for the plaintiff, the magistrate noted that journalists have a duty to report all facts faithfully.

The court ruled that the “curious and not normal” comment could not be deemed as being a fair comment nor a value judgment since the allegation was not based on facts that were “substantially true.” It added that one should ensure that such comments are just and based on researched arguments that can be corroborated and proved.

One TV was ordered to pay Thake €1,000 by way of compensation for damages.