Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield testified on Friday in the public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, claiming that his self-titled blog had sought to counter attacks by the late journalist.
“My blog was a political one, intended to lend a voice to all those who were attacked and ridiculed by Daphne Caruana Galizia,” said the MP, presenting the three-member board with a list of 558 people targeted by Ms Caruana Galizia’s pen.
He said that the journalist used to “attack and mock” all sorts of persons, besides public figures, including children, her writings leading to family break ups and even driving “one person to the brink of committing suicide”.
His own eponymous blog, set up in 2016 and pulled down in 2018, shortly after the journalist’s murder, was designed to offer “an equal and opposite reaction” to Ms Caruana Galizia’s writings, the board was told.
Lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia pointed out that Mr Bedingfield’s posts included “some 1,000” where reference to “Daphne” or “Caruana Galizia” was made in the title.
The MP denied having been employed at Castille to “attack Daphne” but did not deny posting on his blog during office hours, explaining that, as a person employed on a basis of trust, he worked late.
“There’s a difference between being at the office and working. We are not normal government employees, our hours could drag on until late. While at the office we could stop for a break, write something..."
However, while condemning all forms of violence, “from a mere punch” to more serious attacks, the Labour MP strongly rebutted allegations which seemed to create the false impression that he “sat with others to plot the murder".
He had purposely requested to testify before the board so as to rebut such allegations bandied about in his regard, making particular reference to the testimony of Ms Caruana Galizia’s husband, Peter, and claiming it was “an outright lie”.
As for the One TV show Tagħna t-tnejn, which Mr Bedingfield used to co-present with Luke Dalli, the MP and former parliamentary questions coordinator at the OPM, said that the sketch El Fava - aired regularly on the show - was no incitement to violence but a matter of freedom of expression.
“You know that the image of the witch was linked to a woman burnt alive at the stake? You know, don’t you?" Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro asked, prompting the witness to counter that, he had also been “portrayed as a vulture”.
While explaining that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had only stopped him once from writing about “a person who was not Daphne Caruana Galizia,” Mr Bedingfield distanced himself from the Taste Your Own Medicine blog.
“I don’t think the message there was the same as my own blog. My blog is not anonymous and I did not only focus on Daphne Caruana Galizia but also wrote about other topics like the economy."
The MP also explained that he had posted a photo of the journalist’s car, number plate clearly visible, as “a warning to people” not a warning to the journalist herself.
He described his reaction to news of the assassination as one of “shock” and “a sense of sadness”.
Peppered with questions by the board about his views on the Panama Papers scandal and other revelations in its wake, the MP insisted that he had not been involved in any discussions, saying that with hindsight, “it would have been better had there been discussions".
The inquiry continues on Wednesday.
The board is chaired by Judge Michael Mallia, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino and Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Therese Comodini Cachia, Andrew Borg Cardona and Peter Caruana Galizia appeared on behalf of the victim’s family.