KINGSTON, Jamaica — King’s Counsel (KC) KD Knight has filed a lawsuit against Dr Christopher Tufton, accusing the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) campaign chairman of defaming him at a recent rally.

According to the claim submitted by the law firm Knight, Junior and Samuels to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, it noted that on August 10, the defendant “falsely, recklessly, maliciously and or without reasonable and probable cause, published and or caused to be published a manipulated audio recording purportedly to be that of claimant in which the following defamatory word were made”.

It further said the defamatory words published by the defendant were “wholly false and malicious in that the claimant has never said those words in such as context and in such an order in any forum either publicly and privately and that the defendant having caused to be published defamatory statements at the JLP mass rally was reckless and careless without considering or caring whether it to be true”.

Knight’s legal team argued that the public was deliberately misled by the recording into believing that the views held by some members of the public were the actual views of the claimant himself, regarding the leader of the Opposition Mark Golding purportedly not being a fit and proper person to become the prime minister of Jamaica.

Knight is now claiming damages for defamation including exemplary and aggravated damages, vindicatory damages, interest at commercial rates pursuant to average weighted loan rates for commercial banks as published by the Bank of Jamaica or such other rate, costs, attorney costs and any such further relief the Supreme Court may deem fit.

Tufton has rejected Knight’s claim that the recording played at the rally was fake, doctored or altered.