Dana denies family defamation claims

Former presidential candidate and Eurovision song contest winner Dana Rosemary Scallon has denied claims by her sister and a niece that she defamed them when asked about allegations of sexual abuse made against Ms Scallon’s brother John.

Susan Stein and her daughter, Susan Gorrell, both living in Iowa, US, have taken separate High Court actions alleging that Ms Scallon defamed them during an interview broadcast on TV3 in October 2011 during the presidential election campaign.

Ms Scallon, they claim, made statements which meant both women maliciously made up claims. Ms Gorrell claims she was sexually abused between 1971 and 1981 by her uncle, John Brown. They claim the allegations of abuse are true.