Grenadian high court Judge Claire Henry on Tuesday ordered the liquidation of the Grenada Today newspaper after the owners failed to reach an agreement with former Prime Minister Keith Mitchell over the settlement of an EC$191,000 (US$71,135) libel award.

Justice Henry appointed former Accountant General Garvey Louison as the liquidator after attorney Anslem Clouden, who is representing the paper's editor, George Worme, informed the court that the parties had failed to reach an agreement over the payment.

Last Thursday the judge said she did not want to see the company dissolved and called on the parties to work out a payment format before returning to the High Court on Tuesday.

Mitchell, who was not present in court for the brief hearing, sued the newspaper over the publication of a letter from a reader in 2001 that contained disparaging remarks about him.

The High Court awarded the then prime minister compensation totalling EC$120,000 (US$44,692) in 2003, but the matter was appealed and the Court of Appeal increased the judgement.

Mitchell told reporters on Monday that his lawsuit was aimed at protecting his name.

"All I am seeking is justice for being slandered for literally 13 to 14 years consistently," said the former premier.

"I have said to people over and over that in the past 13 years if you check the editorials of Grenada Today, 90 per cent of them have been concentrated on attacking one man and slandering me consistently."

Worme, a veteran journalist, and Mitchell, currently the longest serving parliamentarian here, have been at loggerheads for years as the newspaper sought to expose what it termed corrupt activities of the Mitchell administration during its 13 years in office.

- CMC