Day 271 - 01 Jul 96 - Page 06
1 MR. MORRIS: It could have the name Ed Rensi, R-E-N-S-I, who is
2 the President of McDonald's, US President, but in the
3 defendant's Civil Evidence Act notices section.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, I am going to put it in pale blue
6 volume 3, section D, number 16, which is in the Civil
7 Evidence Act statements relating to employment, although it
8 relates to other matters as well, the section which has
9 various witnesses from abroad. The only other thing you
10 can tell me, if you just look at the newspaper article when
11 the video was made?
12
13 MR. MORRIS: Well, the newspaper article was dated 28th
14 December, 1995, Wall Street Journal, and all it says is
15 that it was a recent video conference, it says in that
16 article, and the actual stuff, the transcript has not got a
17 date on it, so we do not know the exact dates.
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, the note I have made in my book, "Video
20 made sometime in 1995".
21
22 Now, Mr. Gravett is coming in the morning, is he?
23
24 MS. STEEL: Yes.
25
26 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
27
28 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Unless there is anything else we must do I
29 will rise.
30
31 MR. RAMPTON: No, my Lord. I only mention the overwhelming
32 probability is that Mr. Bishop will be here on Wednesday to
33 give evidence after Mr. Smith has finished. I do not
34 anticipate, as I said on Friday, that Mr. Gravett will run
35 into it, and even if he does Mr. Smith, I suspect, will be
36 very short and I will have Mr. Bishop here as well.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, all right.
39
40 MS. STEEL: I just thought we ought to say something which is
41 probably 100 per cent obvious already. But, obviously, Mr.
42 Gravett will say that he did not apologise because he
43 thought that the leaflet was untrue.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, the view I take at the moment in
46 relation to potential evidence of that kind is that I do
47 not think it is actually relevant to any issue in the suit
48 that anyone apologise, and therefore I do not think it is
49 relevant what their reasons might be. I have got to decide
50 this case on the evidence. But Mr. Rampton mentioned it in
51 opening, it was sensible of him to do so because it is all
52 part of the general history of the case, and on that basis
53 it seems to me fair enough that you can ask Mr. Gravett why
54 he did say so. As I say, I do not think it is relevant
55 whether I accept his evidence or not on that because I have
56 got to decide whether allegations are defamatory and if
57 they are justified, and so on, on the evidence.
58
59 MS. STEEL: No, I know that. It was mainly because of what
60 Mr. Preston said that we knew that it was untrue because
