Day 278 - 11 Jul 96 - Page 34


     
     1        disseminate any transcript extracts 'to journalists and
     2        Mclibel support campaigners and similar like-minded
     3        people'."
     4
     5   Q.   That is right.
     6        A.  That is an exact quote from what you said in court.
     7
     8   Q.   Miss Steel, what I said in court, and I will come back to
     9        that?
    10        A.  Was the undertaking that you asked for.
    11
    12   Q.   Miss Steel, when I said that in court it was some time
    13        later, long before this Trial News or whatever it is
    14        called, this document, was ever written, having been
    15        overtaken by that letter from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.  And
    16        you know that perfectly well; do you not?
    17        A.  I am quite sure -- if you just let me go and have a
    18        look through the transcripts now, I would probably be able
    19        to find it.  It was before you sent this letter to us.
    20
    21   Q.   Yes, yes, exactly, and had indeed been replaced by that
    22        letter, had it not, which came long before this document?
    23        A.  No.  You asked for that undertaking in court.  You
    24        never said, "I retract what I said the other day in
    25        court".  That was what you asked for.
    26
    27   Q.   Why did you not tell the writers of that document about
    28        this letter from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert?
    29        A.  Mr. Rampton, are you trying to deny that you said this
    30        in court?
    31
    32   Q.   Miss Steel, will you please answer my question?  Why did
    33        you not tell the writers of this document about this letter
    34        from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert?
    35        A.  The letter is equally as, what is the word, I can't
    36        think of the word, but is about censorship.  But you said
    37        that in court, you had never withdrawn it and I think that
    38        was quite fair to report that you said that in court.
    39
    40   Q.   Would you please look at page 5 again, the box "Transcript
    41        Scandal", the last paragraph:  "The denial of transcripts
    42        will sabotage defence preparations for the rest of the case
    43        and make a fair trial virtually impossible."  Miss Steel,
    44        you know perfectly well that we were always prepared to go
    45        on paying for you to use the transcripts for the conduct of
    46        your defence provided that you undertook to confine their
    47        use to that purpose?
    48        A.  Mr. Rampton, as you are well aware, this court case is
    49        about defending the right to criticise multinational
    50        companies and not bowing to attempts by them to silence
    51        their critics.  We were hardly going to agree to an attempt
    52        by McDonald's to blackmail us into keeping quiet about what
    53        was going on in court.  And, as far as we were concerned,
    54        you were denying the transcripts which you had promised you
    55        would provide to us throughout this trial.
    56
    57   Q.   We provided them, Miss Steel, as you know perfectly well,
    58        so that you should not be at a disadvantage in the conduct
    59        of the litigation.  If you are at a disadvantage, you have
    60        brought it on yourself?

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