Day 300 - 14 Nov 96 - Page 15
1 MR. MORRIS: I know. It is difficult, because this is what we
2 wanted to avoid, which no doubt happens in every case in
3 the world, which is the legal fancy footwork kind of
4 approach, whatever is most beneficial to our case.
5 Basically, we do not want to take that approach. We want
6 to be honest.
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You can do that, as Mr. Rampton said a couple
9 of weeks ago now. What you can say is, "We say it is
10 comment, we say it is fair comment, because look at the
11 allegations of fact which are made, or sufficiently
12 referred to, in the leaflet or which everyone knows in any
13 event, and we have proved those and, therefore, any
14 reasonable person, even if he was a bit biased one way or
15 the other, could still reasonably hold what view." So that
16 can be defended as fair comment. You can say, "But even if
17 we are wrong about that, if it is a statement of fact it is
18 a general charge of exploitation of children, and we have
19 justified that as proved, based on these matters."
20
21 But it is helpful to me to know which you put first on your
22 agenda, apart from anything else, if in a particular part
23 of the case you do not allege that there is a comment I can
24 probably forget about that and just concentrate on it as a
25 statement of fact, and it is because Ms. Steel said
26 exploitation of children is a comment and it is reasonable
27 -- when she was going about explaining how she would say
28 account may be taken of what goes on in other countries --
29 that I wanted to get it down clearly in my note.
30
31 MR. MORRIS: I mean, to some extent all the headings can be
32 seen as comment. Well, "what is it like working for
33 McDonald's" does not really say very much.
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is the only one, it seems to me, which
36 cannot be said to be comment. It is the only one which
37 does not -- it does not impute a criticism of McDonald's.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: Yes. But all the headings are basically saying,
40 'We are now going to say some things about McDonald's',
41 which include fact and comment, and the heading is a
42 general comment about the overall, you know, conclusion
43 from it, which we are entitled to draw. Or anybody would
44 be entitled to draw even if it may not be the right
45 conclusion, but it is a fair conclusion that a reasonable
46 person could draw from the following information and
47 opinion.
48
49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause a moment. (Pause) I am just
50 going to read back to you what I have just written down. I
51 want you to think about it, because when we come at some
52 stage, and really before Mr. Rampton stands up to address
53 me, I would like you -- and you can do it quite quickly --
54 to tell me what your final position is on what you would
55 argue is comment. But what I have put down now, so that
56 you can have a second think about it -- I don't think you
57 are harming yourself, I want to see at some stage if you
58 both agree -- is, all the headings save 're employment' are
59 comments based on what follows. That is a reasonable
60 conclusion which anyone could draw from what follows under
