Day 242 - 29 Apr 96 - Page 37


     
     1
     2   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes, my Lord.  The question is what is still at
     3        issue which is why I want to call Professor Naismith.
     4        There are three questions, with respect, raised by the
     5        first part of your Lordship's meaning before we get to
     6        deception.  The first question is:  Is it right to say that
     7        McDonald's food is very unhealthy because it is high in fat
     8        and I notice the admission of the word "saturated" and that
     9        is important because that is what the leaflet says and that
    10        is what your Lordship's meaning says but it is not what the
    11        admission says, so is it very unhealthy, and again I stress
    12        the words "very unhealthy" because it is high in fat et
    13        cetera and low in fibre et cetera.  That is number 1.
    14
    15        The second question is:  May the consumption of McDonald's
    16        food very well lead to one's diet being high in fat et
    17        cetera?
    18
    19        The third question is:  If so, does that create a very real
    20        risk in the consumer that he or she will suffer cancer or
    21        heart disease?
    22
    23        My Lord, those are all new questions.
    24
    25   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  They are not.  Are they new questions?
    26
    27   MR. RAMPTON:  Well, yes.
    28
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why were not the greater included in the
    30        lesser in your pleaded case?
    31
    32   MR. RAMPTON:  They were included in my pleaded meaning after
    33        I got leave for that, but that was after the -- well, no,
    34        I am sorry ----
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Your pleaded meaning at the time you applied
    37        was sent to make the matter clearer rather than making a
    38        new case.
    39
    40   MR. RAMPTON:  What my pleaded meaning did was to bypass, in
    41        effect, the effect of diet as an intermediary stage.  What
    42        your Lordship's meaning has done (and nobody can argue
    43        about this any longer, not even I) is to insert into the
    44        process the intermediate stage of effect on diet and the
    45        concept of very real risk created by that kind of diet,
    46        should that kind of a diet be derived from McDonald's food.
    47
    48        I have moved now because I do not believe my admission
    49        really affects these questions at all.  Those are questions
    50        left over after the admission has been made which, in any 
    51        case, only goes to heart disease which is a fairly limited 
    52        kind of admission, not controversial.  What the admission 
    53        significantly does not do is to make any reference to the
    54        extent of the risk involved, even supposing the premises
    55        were proved, that is to say, consumption, diet and then
    56        risk.
    57
    58        My Lord, I would move from there really to Professor
    59        Naismith and I will conclude what I want to say about this,
    60        if I may, in the next 4 minutes.

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