Day 003 - 30 Jun 94 - Page 46
1 countries of the world where McDonald's trades - Canada,
the US, Portugal, France, several of the Scandinavian
2 countries; the leaflet itself had been attached to a
church bulletin, distributed in a House of God; it was
3 distributed by an organisation called Veggies I believe
against whom we had an action, which initially had begun
4 as something very small had suddenly blossomed into a lot
of untruths being spread around the whole world damaging
5 McDonald's.
6 Q. Do you know whether children had been told about these
allegations?
7 A. It had found its way into schools as well.
8 Q. What about what I have called the mainstream media. Did
they at this stage seem to have heard these allegations?
9 A. There were articles over time on an increasing basis
appearing in newspapers, and occasionally radio.
10
Q. So can you tell me, or tell his Lordship rather, what it
11 was, given the background to it which you just have, about
the allegations in the leaflet which prompted you to take
12 it perhaps rather more seriously than you had before?
A. Well, first of all, what I just mentioned they were
13 finding their way everywhere.
14 Q. Why did it matter?
A. They are not true. There is not a thing in that
15 document which is true, not one single solitary thing;
that is damaging to my reputation, it is damaging to the
16 reputation of the entire system, its licensees who have
made an investment in their communities who employ
17 individuals, it is damaging to our suppliers, who service
the organisation. I take the comments across the top of
18 the leaflet to call me a murderer, to call me a killer, to
call me a liar. I take great offence to that. My
19 employees told me the same thing. I got calls from
licensees through the system. I was communicated with by
20 many of the management people from the countries we trade
in, "What is this? Can we not stop it? These are not
21 true. You are damaging our business". Action simply had
to be taken.
22
Q. As a consequence of that decision in the light of those
23 considerations, Mr. Preston, you instructed solicitors in
September 1990 to write to -- there were five of them at
24 that time -- the five members of the group, Greenpeace
London Group, that had been identified as being
25 responsible for this leaflet?
A. That is correct.
26
Q. My Lord, the reference is pink bundle 2 tab 13. In that
27 letter -- I do not ask you to look at it now; I will tell
you what it says -- Mr. Preston, you enclosed a writ and
28 you said, "But if you will apologise, give an undertaking
to the court not to repeat these allegations and pay the
29 costs so far incurred, then that will be the end of the
matter". Do you remember that?
30 A. Yes.
