Day 308 - 28 Nov 96 - Page 23
1
2 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What was the date of the statement again?
3
4 MR. MORRIS: I cannot remember.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I thought you just gave it then.
7
8 MR. MORRIS: 7th March, I think. I am trying to skip through
9 it as quick as I can. It is at the top of page 41.
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
12
13 MR. MORRIS: -- on that day. And then he said, "Do you not think
14 that it is reprehensible conduct that you know that
15 something is incorrect but you still carried on sending it
16 out?" Answer, "I think it is a mistake and it was wrong
17 and it has been dealt with in accordance with the proper
18 procedure, and I am sorry for that", and, as we have heard,
19 that is only after extensive questioning. And then,
20 basically, as we all know, they have continued to say the
21 same things, the same press release -- I am doing this in
22 chronological order.
23
24 On day 245, pages 50 and 51, he was asked, "So in your view
25 all the statements that are in the fact sheet" -- that is
26 the London Greenpeace fact sheet -- "are equally bad?"
27 Answer, "Yes." Question, "Or equally inaccurate?"
28 Answer, "Yes". This is an incredible point of view from a
29 person in the position of Mr. Preston, who is actually in
30 charge, effectively, of bringing this case.
31
32 Then he says at line 22, "I think they are all damaging."
33 Then he says, "I think they are all terrible, individually
34 or collectively, starting with those headlines". This is
35 the headline across the top of the fact sheet which
36 I wanted to point out. Of course, if he is particularly
37 concerned about those, then, as he later says on page 51
38 line 14, "Did you authorise the decision to send legal
39 letters threatening Veggies over the leaflet?"
40 Answer,"Sure".
41
42 So he was the person who authorised the action against
43 Veggies Limited for identical fact sheets to
44 London Greenpeace, with the headings, and, effectively, he
45 accepted their continued distribution with minor amendments
46 to the text in the rainforest section, and no complaints
47 about headlines, no complaints about any other parts of it.
48
49 So, he personally was involved and would have full
50 knowledge of the legal correspondence with Veggies.
51
52 If it is any help, on page 50 line 45, "I wanted to stop
53 the repetition of that which is contained in that leaflet",
54 he said, referring to the fact sheet, "you folks talk about
55 half a million being distributed worldwide." Then he
56 clearly, even by that stage, cannot distinguish between
57 different leaflets, and I think this is a feature of the
58 Plaintiffs' case. OK, that is that.
59
60 The next point is day 246, page 16, top of the page. This
