Day 278 - 11 Jul 96 - Page 40
1 bundle, just to point out, because Mr. Rampton did not read
2 this out this morning and now I have had a chance to look
3 through it -- actually I have got the wrong one. Can I
4 just say actually something else about rainforests, which
5 is that McDonald's have made repeated denials that they
6 have ever used beef from ex-rainforest land along with
7 their denials that they have got any interests in
8 ranching.
9
10 As we have seen from this case, when they are finally
11 forced to give a list of the places where they ranch in
12 Brazil, they were on ex-rainforest land. And that is not
13 the only place, they have admitted in their own witness
14 statements that beef that was used in Costa Rica was reared
15 on ex-rainforest land. And to me, they repeatedly deny all
16 these things, so why should I believe them just because
17 they are saying they have not got any ranching interests?
18 They have denied lots of things which we have proven to be
19 true. Well, not we personally, but have been, you know,
20 witnesses have confirmed and lots of things that have been
21 confirmed by their own documents even though they have
22 denied that they are true. They have denied ever using
23 imported beef and then as it turns out they have imported
24 beef from Brazil. I mean, to me, they continually lie so
25 there is no reason to believe what they say.
26
27 Q. Right. You wanted to go to Mcspotlight?
28 A. Yes. For some reason I cannot actually find it. Has
29 anyone got a spare copy because for some reason I cannot
30 find my copy (handed). Yes, it is just on the second page
31 because Mr. Rampton did not point this out, he was trying
32 to assert that Mcspotlight and the Mclibel support campaign
33 were the same thing. Just to say that it does, I think,
34 the first one I think was from the Mclibel support campaign
35 about Mcspotlight and it says, "Please note the Mclibel
36 support campaign is supportive of but independent from
37 Mcspotlight, which is a project of the Mcinformation
38 network based in 14 countries."
39
40 And then in the Mcspotlight press release on page 5,
41 it says: "Mcspotlight has been constructed by the
42 Mcinformation Network, an international network of
43 volunteers working from 14 countries around the world. It
44 is autonomous from, but supportive of, the McLibel Two and
45 the McDonald's McLibel support campaign."
46
47 That is what I was saying earlier. They are nothing
48 to do with each other and they are not run by us either. I
49 don't know whether it matters, and I have not unfortunately
50 had time to look up the relevant transcript, but I do know
51 that the quote from about the withdrawal of transcripts is
52 in the transcripts, and it is something that was said in
53 court by Mr. Rampton.
54
55 I just wanted to confirm that and, if it is possible,
56 I will look for that tonight and then give exactly the
57 transcript reference tomorrow. Just something about -- I
58 have not got an exact note of what I said this morning, but
59 when I was talking about the first McLibel Five support
60 campaign leaflet done by Mr. Gravett, I talked about the
