Day 255 - 23 May 96 - Page 36


     
     1        what kind of documents they were again.
     2
     3   MS. STEEL:  There is one actually in tab 1 which we missed out
     4        which is the initial press release.
     5        A.  You see, I would not have been involved in making any
     6        decision regarding whether to go to the press or not.
     7        I had a totally different role in this case.
     8
     9        My presence at the first meeting, together with
    10        Mrs. Brinley-Codd, was just to tell them why we had brought
    11        the action and what we had done up to that point.  The
    12        decision to go to the press and how to phrase, or how to
    13        word the information that went to the press, would be left
    14        entirely to the PR Department.  As long as nothing there
    15        was said was factually incorrect, in so far as the case was
    16        concerned, I would hardly be interested.  Well, I would be
    17        interested but I would not be involved in it.
    18
    19   Q.   Did you think it was a good idea to put out these leaflets
    20        and press releases?  You did not kind of speak out against
    21        it or anything?
    22        A.  No.  I thought at the time you had already, yourself
    23        and Mr. Morris, gone to the press.  You had given press
    24        interviews and you had put your point of view, and at that
    25        time I thought it was appropriate that we should do
    26        something to put our point of view over to the press, but
    27        the handling of that was not my affair.
    28
    29   Q.   But, effectively, you were all for what was going on?
    30        A.  Yes.
    31
    32   Q.   Right.  You say you went there to tell them why the Company
    33        had brought the action?
    34        A.  Yes.
    35
    36   Q.   And what you had done up to that point?
    37        A.  Yes.
    38
    39   Q.   What was it you told them?
    40        A.  Well, the reason we had brought the action was
    41        principally to stop, if we could, the distribution of the
    42        leaflet.
    43
    44   Q.   What reason did you give as the reason?
    45        A.  Because it was now getting worldwide distribution and
    46        it was coming at all us from a lot of countries and people,
    47        our are franchisees, our suppliers, our own staff, were
    48        concerned that we were allowing this to happen and we were
    49        not doing anything to stop it.
    50 
    51   Q.   Right.  What did you tell them about what you had done up 
    52        to that point? 
    53        A.  Right.  I did not go into any great detail over using
    54        the agencies. I just said that people working on our behalf
    55        had attended meetings.  We had established what had now
    56        been advised by counsel and solicitors was sufficient
    57        evidence to make a case against certain individuals.
    58        I explained to them that we could not take action against
    59        the organisation of London Greenpeace because it was
    60        unincorporated, and that we therefore had to take action

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