Day 001 - 28 Jun 94 - Page 17


     
     1        First, that London Greenpeace (which, I should say, has
              nothing whatsoever to do with the internationally renowned
     2        environmental organisation called Greenpeace
              International) was a group of like minded individuals
     3        whose view of the world was, to use their own words,
              "Anarchists", and whose principal objective appeared to
     4        be the destruction or dismantling of organised society as
              we know it and, in particular, of capitalism.
     5
              the investigators found that these two individuals, along
     6        with others, David Morris and Helen Steel, were leading
              lights in the group.  The investigators found that
     7        McDonald's were a principal target of the group and the
              subject of a continuing and persistent campaign, not
     8        apparently because of any particular acts of misconduct or
              anti-social behaviour which the group thought McDonald's
     9        guilty of, but simply because McDonald's were seen as a
              particularly egregious example of the capitalist system.
    10
              My Lord, the leaflet complained of in this action with its
    11        progeny  (to which I shall return) was glorified amongst
              the members of the group as being a particularly effective
    12        weapon in the war against McDonald's.
 
    13        Both these defendants on different occasions in early 1990
              actually claimed credit for the production and
    14        dissemination of the anti-McDonald's material, that is to
              say, the leaflet complained of and its shorter brother
    15        which was being used by the group in 1990.  My Lord,
              I will refer your Lordship to that shorter version in due
    16        course.
 
    17        My Lord, I would like, if I may, to interpose in this
              account of the findings of the investigators this:  They
    18        will, of course, be giving evidence before your Lordship
              in due course.  I dare say their evidence may be
    19        challenged, in which case your Lordship may find it
              helpful to look at one document that the investigators
    20        collected on their visits to these premises, not by any
              subterfuge because all the material was freely available
    21        to be picked up by anyone interested in looking at it in
              the course of 1990.
    22
              My Lord, it is pink bundle 1, tab 41.  The page number in
    23        the bundle is 102.  The pages are numbered serially
              throughout the bundle.  I will read the whole of this
    24        document without comment except for one paragraph to which
              I will come back.  It appears to be a description by the
    25        group itself of what it is, its aims are and so forth.  It
              is headed "Greenpeace (London)".  There is sort of a 
    26        symbol at the top with a broken rifle, I think it is, in 
              the middle with a circle which says:  Office, 5 Caledonian 
    27        Road, London N1, open meetings: Every Thursday, 7.30pm 6
              Endsleigh St., London WC1.  Background. The London
    28        Greenpeace Group was founded in 1970 as an independent
              group of activists by individuals from the War Resisters
    29        International and Peace News. The early years were mainly
              spent campaigning against nuclear bomb tests".
    30
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can you just pause a minute? It is the pink

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