Day 307 - 27 Nov 96 - Page 26
1 There is no evidence. I think I was only questioned about
2 one press article, which I believe was the article that
3 appeared in The Guardian women's page, which, from memory,
4 was about a year after the trial started and so would not
5 be any kind of grounds whatsoever for the publication of
6 these press releases and leaflets over a year before.
7
8 It was entirely Mr. Rampton's choice what he decided to
9 cross-examine me about, he could have asked me about all
10 the documents, all the leaflets and press releases and
11 newspaper articles which appeared in the counterclaim
12 bundles in order to try and elicit evidence of my
13 involvement with those, but he chose not to do so.
14 Therefore, there is no evidence to connect either myself or
15 Mr. Morris to all those documents which are in the
16 bundles. I mean, obviously, when I am referring to all of
17 them, I am referring to any of them. I hope that is so
18 obvious it does not need to be said. But...
19
20 MR. MORRIS: Can I say on that last point that it was said that
21 the mere fact, even though there is no evidence to connect
22 us with any of those documents at all, that something has
23 been written has been said is not evidence of publication,
24 which is a point you made yourself last week, and the
25 Plaintiffs would have to show how any of those documents
26 they relied on was indeed actually published.
27
28 MS. STEEL: If I can just say in relation to some of the
29 articles that have appeared in the media, that there is no
30 evidence to connect us to them, and some of them I did not
31 speak to them. For example, one of the press articles
32 which the Plaintiffs are relying on is a radio interview
33 between -- well, it is Miss Edie Bensilum on behalf of
34 McDonald's UK being interviewed about the trial, and we do
35 not even get a mention. Well, obviously, we must be
36 referred to, but we are not part of that radio interview,
37 so how can the Plaintiffs, how can McDonald's, possibly say
38 that we were responsible for procuring that radio
39 interview? It is just ridiculous. I cannot actually
40 remember -- Oh, yes, it is a broadcast report LBC News
41 Talk, 18th April 1994, 8.32, and the news reader was Sue
42 Carpenter, and she spoke briefly to mention about the
43 provisional trial date. That was when the trial was
44 supposed to be starting at that time. She was just
45 introducing that fact. The only other person that spoke
46 was Edie Bensilum. So, you know, it is just ridiculous to
47 assume that because an article is about this case we are
48 responsible for it having been published.
49
50 MR. MORRIS: Can I just say, on that document, it says, and
51 this is on LBC, April 1994, "McDonald's say a leaflet
52 produced by Helen Steel and Dave Morris of London
53 Greenpeace made false claims". Well, that is obviously a
54 reference to the press release.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Where is that?
57
58 MR. MORRIS: I have not got a page. I do not know if -- it is
59 actually the 18th April. There is a little handwritten 33,
60 bottom left-hand corner; there is a series of media
