by Linda Straker
- Pre-action protocol letter addressed to George Worme in his capacity as newspaper editor
- Letter described Dr Wells as a highly regarded professional providing consultancy services
- The New Today to cease and desist from publishing or repeating false statements and issue prominent correction and public apology
The New Today newspaper has been served with a pre-action protocol letter from attorneys for Dr Ophelia Wells, addressed to George Worme in his capacity as editor. It demands, among other things, that the paper and its Facebook page cease and desist from publishing or repeating any false statements concerning her marital and or visa status, and issue a full and prominent correction and public apology within 7 days.
Served by bailiff Terrie Registe on Monday, 25 August 2025, the pre-action letter said that the 21 August edition of the paper and a publication on its Facebook page defamed Wells by claiming she is the estranged wife of Dennis Cornwall and that her US visa was revoked because the US had revoked Cornwall’s visa.
The letter explained that the natural and ordinary meaning of these words used in the article presented Dr Wells as a married woman engaging in adultery. It said that the defamed words are factually incorrect.
“While Dr Wells was previously married to Mr Dennis Cornwall, that marriage legally ended in 2023, a public fact known to all. As such, she is not currently married and can therefore neither be described as the wife or the estranged wife of Mr Dennis Cornwall. Further, Dr Wells is not the mistress of anyone,” said the letter from Forrester Legal Chambers.
“Moreover, our client denies any knowledge of her visa issued by the United States of America having been revoked and or restricted in any way. There is no reference to our client in the official Government release, which confirms the reckless and careless nature of the assertions in the publications made by you.” The letter described Dr Wells as a highly regarded professional providing consultancy services to numerous clients including the International Monetary Fund.
“Our client’s character, credibility and reputation, which she has garnered throughout her professional life, have been seriously damaged, and she is sustaining considerable distress and embarrassment. There is not, without more, any public interest in a legal sense in the disclosure or publication of purely private information of our client, as she is not in public life.”
The Trinidad and Tobago Newsday newspaper also reported that attorneys for Dr Wells in Trinidad & Tobago have issued a pre-action protocol letter to talk-show host and producer Ian Alleyne, “signalling possible defamation proceedings over an online publication referencing her name.”
