Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 22
1 no significance to having been the person who started the
2 agenda off; it was not a set job and it was done by
3 different people each week.
4
5 Mr. Bishop agreed with that description of how the agenda
6 was organised on day 260, page 14. Mr. Pocklington agreed
7 with it on day 261, page 47, line 48. In fact, Mr. Bishop
8 said, on day 260, page 36, line 1, that if somebody wanted
9 to raise a point, it would be put on the agenda; and then
10 he went on to say that not everybody would take part in the
11 discussion, it would be up to them, it would be up to the
12 individuals at the meetings whether or not they took part
13 in the discussion. That was at page 36, line 23, of the
14 same day.
15
16 As regards any assertion of taking control of the meetings
17 which were made by a couple of witnesses relating to
18 specific dates, the evidence from all the defence witnesses
19 was clear: there was nobody in control of the meetings;
20 that, after the agenda was written, at some point -- well,
21 the agenda would be started and then, when each item was
22 gone through, at some point somebody would say, "Shall we
23 move on to the next item", and there was not anybody who
24 was delegated to carry out that moving on; and, as
25 Mr. Bishop agreed on day 259, page 81, line 13, there was
26 no chairperson as such. I think that all the witnesses,
27 both for the defence and for the Plaintiffs, agreed that
28 the meetings were very informal and there was not anybody
29 in charge.
30
31 There was also an assertion about myself having taken the
32 minutes on a number of occasions. Again, I would make the
33 point that that is totally irrelevant to anything to do
34 with this case. It has been accepted that the spies took
35 minutes on a number of occasions. On day 261, page 39,
36 line 26, Mr. Pocklington said that he had taken the notes,
37 but he could not recall whether or not he was asked to take
38 them or whether he volunteered to take them. The point is,
39 it is just completely irrelevant to any issue in this case.
40
41 A general point about letters being read out at the
42 meetings regarding McDonald's: Mr. Rampton, when he was
43 cross-examining me, was trying to bump up the number of
44 occasions when McDonald's came up on the agenda at meetings
45 by including in his figures times when letters were read
46 out about McDonald's. I think the point on this is that it
47 was accepted by all witnesses, both for the defence and the
48 Plaintiffs, that it was standard practice for just about
49 every letter that the group had received, other than just
50 bland inquiries, but anything that was a report of
51 something that had happened or a more interesting inquiry,
52 more detailed inquiry, would be read out at the start of
53 the meeting; and that this is really completely irrelevant
54 to whether or not the anti-McDonald's campaign was going
55 strong or whether the fact sheet was being distributed.
56 Letters about McDonald's were just one of a number of
57 subjects that were read out at the start of meetings.
58 There is no significance to be attached to that.
59
60 It should be borne in mind, as well, that there would be a
