Day 246 - 09 May 96 - Page 29


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is their case.  That is their pleaded
     2        case, not in so many words but they have said they were
     3        forced to do this to defend themselves from attack.
     4
     5   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  Part of our case is that if, as they have
     6        indicated, which is not true, they wrote to us many times
     7        to try and establish the facts to avoid a court case, part
     8        of the thing they could have done, we have shown there, was
     9        activated by malice.  One of the things they could have
    10        done is responded by dealing with these criticisms through
    11        their massive advertising budget.
    12
    13   MS. STEEL:  It is the actual issues rather than attacking us
    14        personally.
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why not put that to the witness and then
    17        I can see where you are going.
    18
    19   MS. STEEL:   Right. (To the witness):  Mr. Preston, instead of
    20        putting out leaflets attacking us, you were quite capable
    21        of putting out leaflets and press releases giving very
    22        detailed information about exactly what these practices
    23        were which you say your company carries out rather than
    24        what you claim are lies.  You were quite capable of doing
    25        that, were you not?
    26        A.  We did.  We did this.
    27
    28   Q.   There was no need, was there, to put out leaflets and press
    29        releases attacking myself and Mr. Morris and other critics
    30        as liars?
    31        A.  You and Mr. Morris have never been attacked personally
    32        ever.
    33
    34   Q.   The leaflet refers to a court case and the Defendants, so
    35        it is clearly about us; is it not?
    36        A.  Well, you are the Defendants.
    37
    38   Q.   I ask you again:  There was no need to put out any leaflets
    39        or press releases attacking us as liars?
    40        A.  Well, the press releases that we put out, the ones we
    41        put together in the first part of 1994, were not put out
    42        until you yourselves put out via the McLibel Campaign that
    43        which you said.
    44
    45        I did what I did in response to what you did.  Nothing had
    46        been done prior to that.  I did a press release because you
    47        did a press release, something to balance it going to the
    48        same people.  I did not think sending this -- I certainly
    49        would not have thought sending this to the BBC or The Times
    50        would have sufficed in their terms.  It does not explain 
    51        anything at all about why we were going to court.  It makes 
    52        some statements but it does not say why we are saying any 
    53        of this.
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have to say I think the tray liner in 1990
    56        is a big red herring,, I am not suggesting you introduced
    57        it as that.
    58
    59        What we are concentrating on is what happened between 14th
    60        March or thereabouts and late May 1994 and I think what is

Prev Next Index