Day 174 - 17 Oct 95 - Page 13
1
2 MR. MORRIS: Right. He was never charged with any criminal
3 offence, was he, for his so-called actions on the picket
4 line?
5 A. I cannot recall whether he was or was not.
6 I think, from memory, reading through the documentation,
7 there were occasions when he certainly was spoken to by the
8 police. I think your question is: was he charged? I do
9 not know.
10
11 Q. You do not know if he was being charged?
12 A. I do not know. There were lot of things that were
13 happening.
14
15 Q. You said there were a lot of strikes in Ireland at the
16 time?
17 A. Yes.
18
19 Q. It is a matter of comment, really. During strikes, there
20 are temperatures raised on both sides, are there not?
21 A. There can be, yes.
22
23 MS. STEEL: If Mr. Macken was dismissed because he was not a
24 good employee and because you felt he was irresponsible on
25 the picket line, why should Mr. Steve Copeland want to know
26 about his dismissal?
27 A. Well, that is a matter of course. I mean, I had come
28 out of a dispute that had gone on a long time, so I was
29 seeking to continue counsel with Mr. Copeland.
30
31 Q. You wanted Mr. Copeland to know that you had got rid of the
32 main (what you considered) troublemaker, did you not?
33 A. No. As I say, I was keeping him informed of the
34 situation in relation to the finish of the strike. So, by
35 way of course, I was keeping him informed. That was the
36 reason.
37
38 MR. MORRIS: Now, the strike finished, and the union -- you
39 change your statement, that you now remember that the union
40 was still pressing for meetings as late as November 1979, a
41 couple of months after the strike had finished; yes?
42 A. Yes.
43
44 MR. RAMPTON: That is not what it says, my Lord. It says one
45 occasion.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What are you looking at now?
48
49 MR. RAMPTON: That is not what it says. I actually gave the
50 page references in the bundle which are relevant to the
51 amendment.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Where are you getting that from, Mr. Morris?
54
55 MR. MORRIS: It is on his statement.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, but where?
58
59 MR. MORRIS: Sorry. Page 170.
60
