Alfred Sant's state of health

The leader of January 22 made it evident that The Times has still not had its full say regarding Alfred Sant's state of health despite the press conference given by the Leader of the Opposition 10 days after his major operation, and the extensive column-inches on the subject by a number of contributors in the Sunday and daily versions of the paper. In fact The Times seems to be after its pound of flesh.

This as the Bard so vividly showed many years ago is well within the law but falls short of the other parameters mentioned by The Times, that is "best practice" and "good taste", and it is certainly not "compassionate reporting". Indeed, I find it more in line with the reporting style of the tabloid press than that of a "serious newspaper".

The details sought on the side effects of the adjuvant therapy Dr Sant mentioned in his public statement are easily available in any appropriate medical source of information; suffice it to say they vary in quality and severity with every case and only time can tell .

So please, at this stage of the game, The Times ought to reflect the better side of our population's conscience and in its political rambles give Dr Sant's state of health a deserved rest.