Speaker Named in Defamation Lawsuit

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is one of two individuals named in a lawsuit filed by a Police Officer, recently acquitted of rape in the High Court.

Desmond Washington has instructed his lawyer David Brandt to proceed with a claim for defamation against Shirley Osborne and Dunstan Lindsey.

The lawsuit stems from publications made by Osborne and Lindsey on Facebook which Washington alleges constitute a most serious and damaging libel against him.

The lawsuit follows a letter written to them requesting a full retraction and apology in a statement which should have been published on Facebook.

While ZJB News is not aware of the details of the correspondence sent to Lindsey, Osborne’s letter requested that she pay Washington a suitable sum as damages for the injury to his reputation and for the embarrassment caused to him.

In response, Osborne insinuated in a Facebook post that the action taken by Washington and his attorney is an attempt to intimidate and restrict freedom of speech.

Defamation is an intentional false statement, either written (libel) or spoken (slander), that harms a person’s reputation, and which lowers them in the estimation of right thinking members of society.