Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 17


     
     1
     2        There is absolutely not one shred of evidence of my
     3        involvement in the anti-McDonald's campaign activities,
     4        specifically during the period when McDonald's had seven
     5        infiltrators up to the service of the writ.  There is not
     6        one piece of evidence; and, in fact, the evidence is to the
     7        contrary of me taking part in any pickets, organising any
     8        events, distributing leaflets, anti-McDonald's leaflets.
     9        I will deal with the mail-outs point when I have checked
    10        the detail.  That would not show any involvement in
    11        anti-McDonald's campaign, in any event, because answering a
    12        few general inquiries is hardly part of the anti-McDonald's
    13        campaign. In any event, as we have heard, McDonald's
    14        inquiries, specifically, were the responsibility of those
    15        who were involved with the campaign, they dealt with
    16        those -- such as Paul and Jane.
    17
    18        The third level -- I have done these back to front,
    19        really -- the third level of what the Plaintiffs have to
    20        prove, they have to show my direct responsibility for the
    21        distribution of the fact sheet.  Unsurprisingly, we would
    22        say that there is no evidence at all of distribution of the
    23        fact sheet, which the Plaintiffs have to positively prove.
    24        Obviously, there were claimed incidents which melted away
    25        under cross-examination, we would submit.
    26
    27        The evidence on mail-outs is that apart from the fact that,
    28        of course, the fact sheet had virtually run out and was
    29        only used by Mr. Gravett, or indeed by Jane, for specific
    30        inquiries from this relevant time, we have heard that
    31        anyway the mail-outs were very much down to who -- when
    32        I say "mail-outs", I mean answering letters; I do not mean
    33        mail-out because, as we have heard, the only mail-out in
    34        this relevant time did not contain any anti-McDonald's
    35        leaflet on the issues in the case, let alone the
    36        fact sheet.  So, when I say "mail-out", I generally mean
    37        answering letters, inquiries.  First of all, it is entirely
    38        up to the person who is doing that, answering that
    39        letter -- and we will go through the detail of this as we
    40        go through some of the evidence of the agents -- very much
    41        down to the individual what they put in, what they did not
    42        put in, whether they put a cover letter in, whether they
    43        did not.  The only thing that seemed to be pretty
    44        conclusive is that the London Greenpeace fact sheet would
    45        not go into a general inquiry, because it was specifically
    46        kept for Paul and Jane or whoever was answering those
    47        letters to deal with in the way they thought fit.
    48
    49        Can I just say, in terms of lack of evidence, we have heard
    50        how some of the agents -- I think it was Mr. Clare, but it 
    51        may have been another of the agents -- had searched through 
    52        drawers in the London Greenpeace office, and that if -- 
    53        indeed, again in terms of inferences, we do not think it is
    54        safe to draw inferences about something that McDonald's are
    55        under the burden of proof to prove in any case -- but in
    56        terms of if evidence had been available, then no doubt the
    57        agents would have found it, about, say, my responsibility
    58        for publication, or indeed production, because they were
    59        able to go through drawers, enter the office at times when
    60        there was nobody there, as we have heard; and, indeed, they

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