by Barry Alleyne

Leader of the Opposition, Mia Mottley has been granted a "substantial" five-figure amount of money from a British-based magazine which published a defamatory article about her earlier this year.

The Country Life Magazine carried the article on April 3, claiming Mottley had assaulted another woman.

The decision to pay the money was made in London yesterday, accompanied by an apology from IPC Media Limited, publishers of Country Life Magazine.

The action arose after the article, headed "Treading the Boards in Barbados" was published by the magazine, which has a large readership in England, as well as continental Europe.

In the course of the article, reference was made to a Barbadian calypso song which suggested Mottley had assaulted another female.

At a press conference called yesterday, Mottley's attorney, Sir Richard Cheltenham, QC, said she was extremely satisfied with the judgement and apology, and has decided the matter would end there.

But he also advised the member of Parliament, herself an attorney-at-law, QC, not to take any further acts of defamation lightly. He added that he has encouraged Mottley to take further legal action against others who wish to continue the vilification of her character.

For the full details of this story, please read tomorrow's MIDWEEK NATION or www.nationnews.com.