Former PN MP David Thake has dropped a libel case he had opened against PL media house ONE News over an article about his company’s late VAT payments.

ONE reported that Thake is arguing that since he is no longer in public life, he is no longer interested in pursuing cases related to his time in politics. 

The PL media house said it was ready to summon several witnesses to the stand, including the Tax Commissioner, VAT Department Officials, PN officials, workers from Thake’s own businesses, and a number of editors and journalists. 

Thake sued ONE for libel earlier this year over an article reporting that his company Vanilla Telecoms was in talks with the tax authorities to repay some €270,000 in unpaid VAT dues which had accumulated over “a number of years”.

He vehemently denied that Vanilla had tried to evade tax, arguing that the VAT returns were filed on time and that his company’s own accounts department had actually taken the initiative after realising the VAT department’s website wasn’t showing updated figure for the company since 2016.

However, Thake ended up resigning from Parliament after it emerged another of his companies – Maltashopper – hadn’t filed its accounts for over ten years. He didn’t contest the general election.

A separate investigation by the Standards Commissioner, requested by Thake, is still ongoing.