A former sergeant major who raised thousands of dollars for charity with an annual 24-hour walkathon is suing former Opposition deputy leader Leah Scott for defamation.

Marilyn Steede alleges in the civil suit filed in the Supreme Court that Ms Scott libelled her in October 2019, when the politician was second-in-command at the One Bermuda Alliance.

The claim is understood to relate to a derogatory review of Ms Steede’s romantic novel, When Your Body Gets Weak, which Ms Scott is alleged to have posted on Amazon.

Ms Scott, a lawyer, refutes the legal claim and has applied to the court to have the matter struck out as an “abuse of process and/or as having no real prospect of success and/or as a matter of public policy”.

A decision on her application, which was filed in November, is expected soon.

Ms Steede, who served in the Bermuda Regiment and who has previously run as a United Bermuda Party and an independent election candidate, is representing herself in the litigation.

She declined to comment.

Lawyer and OBA MP Scott Pearman, who is representing Ms Scott, said: “This matter is before the courts and Ms Scott will wait the outcome before commenting.”

Ms Scott’s eight-year tenure as an MP ended at the last General Election in December 2020 when Progressive Labour Party newcomer Jason Wade won her Southampton East Central seat.

Ms Steede hung up her walking shoes in 2020, after walking around the island annually for 24 hours straight for the previous 16 years, raising $200,000 for local charities.

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