Day 255 - 23 May 96 - Page 37
1 against individuals, and that action had been taken. Three
2 of the individuals had accepted that they were in the wrong
3 and had apologised in court, and that yourself and
4 Mr. Morris had decided to fight the case.
5
6 Q. Right.
7 A. I do not think I told them much more than that.
8
9 Q. Did you tell them about the letter that was written in
10 1984?
11 A. Yes. Indeed I almost certainly was responsible for
12 telling them that we had written to you in 1984 and that,
13 as I thought then, and indeed still do think, and have said
14 so, we wrote to you again in or around about 1987, that
15 there had been no response, that I did not anticipate
16 getting any response, and I think virtually that was it.
17
18 Q. So it was not you who told them that you had written to the
19 group several times? You did not tell them that?
20 A. I think I said that we had written twice more. That
21 was then my belief but I agree, I cannot establish that
22 now..
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not be concerned about that. At the
25 moment it is just what you told them?
26 A. I think I told them that we had written twice more, and
27 that was ----
28
29 MS. STEEL: Sorry?
30 A. That was my belief at that time and indeed I still am
31 sure that we had written to you again.
32
33 Q. Right, and that was then translated by them into several
34 times, was it? It was not you who said that you had
35 written several times twice?
36 A. Well, I suppose they could interpret, as media people,
37 that "3 times" is "several".
38
39 Q. If you just look at it. For example, if you look in tab 3,
40 the fourth paragraph:
41
42 "In December 1984, McDonald's solicitors wrote to the group
43 expressing concern about the leaflet, stating that it was
44 defamatory, and requesting that the organisation
45 disassociated themselves from the leaflet and its
46 contents. Despite several subsequent letters" -- and that
47 is subsequent -- "no acknowledgment or reply was ever
48 received and persistent distribution of the leaflet
49 continued".
50
51 Did you say to the people there at this meeting that the
52 solicitors had written once in 1984 and then several
53 subsequent letters?
54 A. No "twice". I am quite clear in my mind about that.
55
56 Q. Twice, one of which would have been the letters to us with
57 the writs that came at the same time?
58 A. No. I thought we had written twice to you asking you
59 to desist.
60
