Day 248 - 13 May 96 - Page 13


     
     1        groups who were criticising you?
     2        A.  Ms. Steel, I mentioned this my first day in the witness
     3        box, in this current session.  Following a read again of
     4        the aims and objectives of London Greenpeace, and incidents
     5        involving animal liberation  ----
     6
     7   Q.   I am talking about other groups, not that one in
     8        Greenpeace.
     9        A.  No, there is no logic to the dates, per se, 'are we
    10        going to do something now'.  I think this was probably the
    11        issue at hand.  Rainforest, as I remember back in those
    12        dates and timeframe, was a primary one, and environment was
    13        too.  Being spoken about by many people.
    14
    15   Q.   At that time that was all you were concerned about, the
    16        rainforest and the environment?
    17        A.  I am concerned about anything that is said about my
    18        company which is wrong.
    19
    20   Q.   You were concerned about them because they were
    21        particularly topical?
    22        A.  They were.
    23
    24   Q.   That is why you want to stop the Company being criticised
    25        on those fronts?
    26        A.  A company can be criticised any time people feel so,
    27        just do it in the proper terms for the right reasons with
    28        the right facts.  I have no problem with criticism per se.
    29
    30   MR. MORRIS:  Can we ask a question through the judge about the
    31        solicitors?  This file, the 'words complained of', does not
    32        identify the words in each document that are complained of,
    33        and we just assume that legal action has been taken on each
    34        of these of some kind.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not know whether that is a right
    37        assumption.
    38
    39   MR. RAMPTON:  It is not, my Lord.
    40
    41   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It might just be to show as a platform for
    42        suggesting that the allegations which it is alleged
    43        London Greenpeace were making were the subject of quite
    44        wide dissemination, I do not know.
    45
    46   MR. RAMPTON:  That is right, and I think it did in fact say
    47        something to that effect when I opened the case two years
    48        ago.  If one looks at them, for one thing one notices a
    49        broad coincidence of date, 1989.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That may be.  I do not want you to develop it 
    52        now, Mr. Rampton, but it does not purport to be 
    53        publications in respect of which some solicitor's letter or
    54        some legal action or preamble to the preliminary to legal
    55        action was taken, if that is what you are saying.
    56
    57   MR. RAMPTON:  No, no.  Sometimes a letter was written, sometimes
    58        I think even proceedings were issued, we know they were in
    59        relation to Jungle Burger.  But by no means in every case.
    60

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