Day 001 - 28 Jun 94 - Page 20
1 can ask how it squares with the defendants' repeated and
increasingly loud claims in the course of this litigation,
2 that they are unwaged environmentalists. Unwaged they may
be; environmentalists, one might quarrel with.
3
My Lord, there are only three things I should say about
4 that particular paragraph concerning McDonald's on page 2
of that leaflet at this stage. Mr. Bishop, one of the
5 investigators, attended a meeting of the offices of the
group at 5 Caledonian Road on 2nd August 1990. The
6 defendants, Mr. Morris and Miss Steel, with Mr. Gravett
took charge of the meeting. The defendant, Mr. Morris,
7 asked Mr. Bishop to post a copy of the document I have
just read to Germany in response to enquiry for
8 information about the group.
9 My Lord, if I may continue with my account of the findings
of the investigators, they found, as well as being prime
10 movers in the anti-McDonald's campaign in general, the
defendants were principal organisers of the annual
11 anti-McDonald's Fayre at Conway Hall, at which in 1989
copies of the leaflet complained of: "What is wrong with
12 McDonald's?" were made freely available to members of the
public in large number.
13
They found, did the investigators, that almost invariably
14 in response to an enquiry by post to the group would
involve enclosing that leaflet, the leaflet complained of
15 in this action, in the reply. Most of those responses
were sent to places within the United Kingdom, but many
16 were sent abroad as well. On one occasion, 1st March
1990, Mr. Morris was observed putting the leaflet
17 complained of, amongst others, into envelopes in response
to the enquiries.
18
My Lord, in the light of that information which had
19 enabled the plaintiffs to identify the defendants, amongst
others, as being the principal source of the poison,
20 McDonald's decided to take action to stop it.
21 In consequence, my Lord, I think it was on 20th September
1990 they wrote to five members of the group, including
22 David Morris and Helen Steel, enclosing a writ. Your
Lordship will find that in the same pink volume 2 at tab
23 13. It is right at the back of the bundle. I will read
it out because it shows, we will submit, the very fair and
24 reasonable approach taken by McDonald's in this matter.
25 There is a letter to Mr. Morris on pages 1 and 2 and a
letter in identical terms save that she is addressed
26 "Madam" on pages 3 and 4. I will read the one to Mr.
Morris:
27
"Dear Sir,
28
We act for McDonald's Corporation of Oakbrook in Illinois,
29 U.S.A. who run the McDonald's Restaurant chain in the
U.S.A. and elsewhere in the world, and by McDonald's
30 Restaurants Limited, the company which runs McDonald's
restaurants situation in the United Kingdom.
