Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 29
1 in his notes of the meeting. In fact, in his notes of this
2 meeting, he does not actually say anything about me other
3 than the fact that I was there and that I lived in
4 Haringey. Mr. Morris was not even at that meeting. So,
5 how can he have got the impression from that and other
6 meetings that we were both core members and major
7 participants?
8
9 I think it is clear that Mr. Pocklington was asked specific
10 questions about us when his statement was being prepared
11 and, therefore, these were prompted answers rather than
12 something which he came up with himself. I think that is
13 particularly so, since, if you look at his statement,
14 paragraph 10, the statement actually says: "During the
15 course of this and other meetings I attended, it was clear
16 to me that Helen Steel and Dave more were the core members
17 of the group" -- and he had actually crossed out "the", so
18 it is obvious that somebody else has written the statement
19 and is trying to over-egg the cake and he is not happy
20 about that and he thinks it has gone too far. It is quite
21 clear that he does not agree with the suggestion that the
22 group revolved around myself and Mr. Morris. He actually
23 said as much on day 262, page 9, line 17.
24
25 I think, just something to be aware of is that there is a
26 danger that when a suggestion is put to somebody three
27 years later, they cannot really recall exactly, you know,
28 what was going on, but they are more than likely just going
29 to agree to it unless it sounds too far-fetched.
30
31 In fact, I think that is demonstrated by the fact that in
32 his notes of 1st March 1990 he refers to the fact that
33 myself, Jane, Dave Morris, and Alan from Catford were at
34 the meeting, and he says: "Due to the lack of numbers and
35 lack of 'essential' people at the meetings, little was
36 discussed of any import." So, that would clearly
37 contradict the assertion made in his statement that we were
38 the core members or core members; and seeing as that was
39 his notes made at the time, that is far more likely to be
40 accurate, the note on 1st March 1990 that we obviously were
41 not "essential people" or that not all the essential people
42 were there.
43
44 Also, in his statement, in paragraph 11 -- and this also
45 relates to 16th November 1989 -- he says that
46 I participated in the discussion about the anti-McDonald's
47 fair. However, there is no reference in his notes to me
48 having made any contribution to this discussion. So, for
49 this assertion to be added to his statement three and a
50 half years after the event must be pure speculation. In
51 any event, he does not say in the statement what my
52 contribution was, whether or not I was for or against the
53 fair or whether I was against it being an anti-McDonald's
54 fair or against it taking place at all.
55
56 On day 262, page 8, lines 54 and 55, he said that he could
57 not recall whether or not I spoke against the fair, and on
58 page 11 of the same day, line 15, he said he could not say
59 what he was relying on when we put that in his statement,
60 that I had participated in the discussion.
