Day 304 - 22 Nov 96 - Page 23
1 which it could be achieved. That was day 261, page 59,
2 line 40. Mr. Gravett spoke about his efforts to organise
3 the fayre in 1989 and he had explained that there had not
4 been enough people to organise the fayre due to lack of
5 interest, so he had done it almost single-handedly.
6 Similarly, in the run up to the 1990 fayre he had noted the
7 apathy and lack of interest and asked for more volunteers
8 to come forward to assist.
9
10 I am not sure which day this is of Mr. Gravett, actually.
11 But he said on page 72, line 52, and there are two days of
12 his evidence, which is 273 -- it is probably 272 for that
13 reference, actually -- that "people were not interrogated
14 as to their beliefs on coming to a meeting and that they
15 would not be asked to state their position". Obviously,
16 that is in relation to each issue, or whatever, that came
17 up. When he was asked by Mr. Rampton, "You are all working
18 together for the same ends", he replied that the only ends
19 that people in London Greenpeace, he would say that were
20 shared by all, were that they were against the exploitation
21 of human beings, animals and nature, the environment. He
22 said, "Now, as to what means people chose to do it, it was
23 left up to them, and not everybody in the group
24 participated in the anti-McDonald's campaign." That was
25 page 7, line 60. That would be day 273.
26
27 Jane Laporte said that there was no hierarchy in the group,
28 that everyone had an equal say. That was day 274, page 40,
29 line 47. She said that regarding comments about her
30 attending pickets by Hackney and Islington Animal Rights,
31 she had made it clear that she attended the London
32 Greenpeace meetings with a view to reporting to the group
33 on her own political activity. Again, she made the point
34 that it was a forum, a network, a way of sharing what was
35 going on in London and that she was not, I think, there was
36 -- I do not know. But she was not expecting to get a pat
37 on the back for, you know, reporting what she said. She
38 was not expecting any kind of recognition from the group.
39 It was just a case of, effectively, like Mr. Bishop had
40 agreed, it was like a newsletter, people reporting what had
41 been going on in the past week and what was coming up in
42 the next few weeks. That was day 274, page 42, line 16.
43 She also made the point that when she attended those other
44 political events she was not doing it on behalf of the
45 group or to represent the group.
46
47 There was my evidence on day 275 that London Greenpeace is
48 an informal, open collective and that anybody can attend
49 meetings. That was on day 275, page 13, line 25, and also
50 that it was up to the individual what level of
51 participation was appropriate. I think that was reflected
52 in the notes and the evidence of the agents and also
53 explained why it was possible for some of the agents to
54 attend the meetings regularly and do or say very little and
55 yet not draw attention to themselves or be criticised for
56 lack of involvement or commitment. I think it should be
57 noted that some of the spies actually noticed that some of
58 the other spies did not say anything at the meetings.
59
60 There was also a reference -- I mean, this was not just in
