Day 248 - 13 May 96 - Page 14
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is not the common denominator.
2
3 MR. RAMPTON: That is not in the file at all.
4
5 MS. STEEL: If I could just say, it does say on the index 'date
6 published' and 'date of action', which does imply that
7 there was some action taken.
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I see that.
10
11 MR. MORRIS: We are going to assume it was action taken against
12 these organisations of one sort or another.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can you take it any further with Mr. Preston
15 whether you are right to make that assumption or not?
16
17 MS. STEEL: No, I will leave that part there. Our case, the
18 case that you brought against us, Mr. Preston, was
19 basically just part of a wave of attempt to suppress
20 criticism by your Corporation of your Corporation?
21 A. No.
22
23 Q. If I could hand up this document to the witness box which
24 everybody else has this morning (handed). This is a copy
25 of the libel action background briefing, and if you look at
26 paragraph 4, you confirmed last week that that was
27 incorrect did you not?
28 A. This is the one that starts in December 199----?
29
30 Q. That is the one, yes?
31 A. There were letters in '84.
32
33 Q. We have been through this. You said there was one letter
34 about a leaflet which was different but which you said was
35 similar?
36 A. Amazingly similar.
37
38 Q. Right. I think you must have funny eyesight. The point
39 is, you accepted that that paragraph was incorrect did you
40 not?
41 A. No, I did not accept that. I said that the actions had
42 been taken to amend the action accordingly because of a
43 mistake made by a lawyer trying to work from memory, and
44 that the similarity in the leaflets was such that I did not
45 think it mattered tremendously, they were almost identical.
46
47 Q. Who was that solicitor?
48 A. I do not remember his name.
49
50 Q. You do not remember? So that is something that you heard
51 from somebody else, is it, you did not actually speak to
52 the solicitor directly?
53 A. I was told the story of what had gone amiss, trying to
54 work from memory, and did not.
55
56 Q. Right. Whatever the motive for it, Mr. Preston, you do
57 accept, you did accept last week and you must accept now
58 because you do not have any evidence to the contrary, that
59 that paragraph is incorrect?
60 A. I do not accept that in its entirety, because there
