Update 2 | PM reacts to Bedingfield's Judge rant with mild telling-off

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday admonished his communications aide Glenn Bedingfield for comments suggesting a judge had allowed her political sympathies to cloud her judgement.

In a recent blog post, Bedingfield had criticised a decision by judge Lorraine Schembri Orland that awarded the Nationalist Party two extra parliamentary seats. 

A spokesman for the Prime Minister yesterday evening said the comment was "uncalled for", adding however that "freedom of speech is a universal freedom for all." The spokesman also noted Bedingfield's apology for the comment.

Bedingfield had subsequently updated his blog with an apology of sorts, stating that he "respected the court and therefore Judge Schembri Orland's decision." 

"Nevertheless," he added, "facts remain facts and nobody can change history." 

The Chamber of Advocates had issued a strongly-worded condemnation of Bedingfield’s blog in which the Prime Minister’s aide said the judge who decided that the Nationalist Party should be given two additional seats was politically motivated. The Chamber had severely criticised Bedingfield, calling his comments "unacceptable" and calling on the Prime Minister to distance himself from them. 

In its statement, the chamber  called on the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and justice minister Owen Bonnici to publicly disassociate themselves from the disparaging remarks cast on a judge's integrity by his aide. 

The blog post, entitled ‘Flok hadet is-siggu li riedet, tathom tnejn’ (Instead of taking a seat, she gave them two), Bedingfield implied that after not being elected on the Nationalist Party’s ticket in 1992, Madame Justice Lorriane Schembri Orland made up for her disappointment by giving the PN two seats.

While pointing out that everyone is entitled to freedom of expression and everyone has a right to disagree with a court sentence, the chamber said “it's unacceptable that a judgment is turned into a personal matter and it is the judge who is personally criticised.”

The chamber also noted that there were several precedents of members of the judiciary who were active in politics before their appointment, and they all carried out their judicial roles with impartiality and fairness.

"Comments like Mr Bedingfield's deserve to be condemned regardless of who makes them. They are even more unacceptable when it is a Prime Minister's spokesperson who is making them, since this undermines respect in the judiciary." 

While there has been no reaction from the Office of the Prime Minister to the chamber’s request, Bedingfield uploaded a second post arguing that he respected decisions handed down by the court.

“However, facts remain facts and history cannot be changed. I did not criticise the Judge but only drew attention to the fact that she had contested the 1992 elections,” he said.

The PN condemned Bedingfield’s comments, reminding that he is paid from taxpayers’ money.

“Joseph Muscat should treat Glenn Bedingfield in the same way he had acted with Anglu Farrugia, when he was sacked as deputy leader for comments made on the judiciary. Farrugia’s comments had been far less serious than Bedingfield’s.”

The PN went on to add that Muscat had “a simple and clear test”.

“If he doesn’t sack Bedingfield, the Prime Minister would simply be confirming what the PN leader stated: there is a law for the gods of Castille and another law for the common man.”