Day 308 - 28 Nov 96 - Page 18


     
     1        informal support of lawyers and this was formalised with
     2        the appointment of the City law firm and two specialists
     3        libel barristers to advise them."
     4
     5        Now, this is -----
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have that point.
     8
     9   MS. STEEL:   Yes.  Obviously, we would argue that that is
    10        deceptive and that McDonald's knew that it was not true,
    11        that we were not represented apart for the specific appeal
    12        hearing.
    13
    14        Then the next point:  "The group have suggested that
    15        McDonald's used spies to infiltrate the group.  It is
    16        important to note that their meetings were advertised as
    17        public meetings, and in order to establish precisely who
    18        was responsible for distributing the lies in the leaflet
    19        these meetings were indeed attended on McDonald's behalf."
    20
    21        The statement "The group have suggested that McDonald's
    22        used spies to infiltrate the group" is designed to make
    23        people think that the Defendants are lying, that McDonald's
    24        did not use spies to infiltrate the group.  When we asked
    25        Mr. Preston about this, I cannot remember the exact quote,
    26        but he would not accept the use of the word "infiltrate".
    27
    28        Just to point out that when, in fact, McDonald's disclosed
    29        the letters which had been sent to the firms of inquiry
    30        agents, asking them to investigate London Greenpeace, we
    31        all saw that the very word used by McDonald's
    32        was "infiltration", that they were asking the Company to
    33        infiltrate London Greenpeace; and that was accepted by
    34        Mr. Nicholson on day 259, page 17, line 47.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
    37
    38   MS. STEEL:   As we know, they did not just attend the so-called
    39        public meetings, which were not even always advertised to
    40        the public.
    41
    42   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  They attended -----
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not sure I am terribly impressed by
    45        that, because it may take us back to the leaflet which does
    46        advertise them as public meetings.  But you have the point
    47        anyway that what I suppose you would say is that this
    48        letter creates the wrong impression, because it suggests
    49        that all the meetings they went to were public meetings,
    50        whereas most of them were in the offices at 
    51        Caledonian Road. 
    52 
    53   MR. MORRIS:  Also, they came to special letter-answering
    54        sessions, they attended a party -----
    55
    56   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I know all that.  You do not have to
    57        elaborate on that.  I have got the point.
    58
    59   MR. MORRIS:  They followed people home, they got people's
    60        addresses by devious means.

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