Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 24


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  All the cheques I have seen in the past
     3        heaven knows how many years have had the name of the person
     4        whose account it -----
     5
     6   MS. STEEL:   That is if you have got a cheque book, but that is
     7        not if you have got a building society account, which, we
     8        have heard in evidence, was the case with London
     9        Greenpeace.
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  A building society account, then.  It may not
    12        be on the cheque.  What may be suggested against you, in
    13        case you want to deal with it, it is not just a few people
    14        who tend to meet at a pub on such and such an evening a
    15        week to talk over things; it had sufficient identity to
    16        have a building society account.
    17
    18   MS. STEEL:   Well, I am going to come back to this.  Well, I am
    19        going to carry on going through it, actually, because
    20        I just do not want to get too out of order in the way I am
    21        doing this.
    22
    23        If I just say, on the same date, which was 24th May 1990,
    24        Mr. Bishop said that Mr. Pocklington said that the
    25        signatories to the account were myself and Mr. Morris
    26        (sic), which was in fact incorrect.  Really, I think that
    27        shows the danger of relying very heavily on what the spies
    28        said was stated at meetings.
    29
    30        On the same date, Mr. Bishop gave evidence that I had
    31        arrived with a request from Mr. Morris to know what was
    32        going on and that I had then 'phoned Mr. Morris, who spoke
    33        to Marion, and Mr. Morris was trying to change the subject
    34        of the meeting.
    35
    36        For starters, that was completely wrong.  I did not make
    37        the 'phone call.  That was confirmed by the notes of
    38        Mr. Pocklington which said that Dave 'phoned the meeting.
    39        That was on page 120 of the bundle of spies' notes, and
    40        Mr. Pocklington confirmed that on day 263, pages 41
    41        and 42.
    42
    43        In fact, Mr. Bishop admitted on day 260, pages 22 and 23,
    44        that he could not recall who had initiated the 'phone call
    45        and that he did not actually know whether or not it was
    46        Mr. Morris on the 'phone; he only assumed it.
    47
    48        But the point is, even if it was true, so what -- as
    49        Mr. Rampton might say, and he quite frequently does say,
    50        "So what".  What has that got to do with the subject of 
    51        the action, the fact sheet?  Basically, the Plaintiffs are 
    52        trying to create a smokescreen to portray us as being the 
    53        leaders or the most vociferous, et cetera, in order to say
    54        that we are responsible.  But -- and this is the point I am
    55        coming back to -- even if we were elected presidents of the
    56        group, McDonald's would still have to show specific acts
    57        relating to the fact sheet which showed our assent.  The
    58        fact of the matter is that, obviously, we were not elected
    59        presidents and there were not any positions of authority
    60        within the group.

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