Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 29


     
     1        in his notes of the meeting.  In fact, in his notes of this
     2        meeting, he does not actually say anything about me other
     3        than the fact that I was there and that I lived in
     4        Haringey.  Mr. Morris was not even at that meeting.  So,
     5        how can he have got the impression from that and other
     6        meetings that we were both core members and major
     7        participants?
     8
     9        I think it is clear that Mr. Pocklington was asked specific
    10        questions about us when his statement was being prepared
    11        and, therefore, these were prompted answers rather than
    12        something which he came up with himself.  I think that is
    13        particularly so, since, if you look at his statement,
    14        paragraph 10, the statement actually says: "During the
    15        course of this and other meetings I attended, it was clear
    16        to me that Helen Steel and Dave more were the core members
    17        of the group" -- and he had actually crossed out "the", so
    18        it is obvious that somebody else has written the statement
    19        and is trying to over-egg the cake and he is not happy
    20        about that and he thinks it has gone too far.  It is quite
    21        clear that he does not agree with the suggestion that the
    22        group revolved around myself and Mr. Morris.  He actually
    23        said as much on day 262, page 9, line 17.
    24
    25        I think, just something to be aware of is that there is a
    26        danger that when a suggestion is put to somebody three
    27        years later, they cannot really recall exactly, you know,
    28        what was going on, but they are more than likely just going
    29        to agree to it unless it sounds too far-fetched.
    30
    31        In fact, I think that is demonstrated by the fact that in
    32        his notes of 1st March 1990 he refers to the fact that
    33        myself, Jane, Dave Morris, and Alan from Catford were at
    34        the meeting, and he says:  "Due to the lack of numbers and
    35        lack of 'essential' people at the meetings, little was
    36        discussed of any import."  So, that would clearly
    37        contradict the assertion made in his statement that we were
    38        the core members or core members; and seeing as that was
    39        his notes made at the time, that is far more likely to be
    40        accurate, the note on 1st March 1990 that we obviously were
    41        not "essential people" or that not all the essential people
    42        were there.
    43
    44        Also, in his statement, in paragraph 11 -- and this also
    45        relates to 16th November 1989 -- he says that
    46        I participated in the discussion about the anti-McDonald's
    47        fair.  However, there is no reference in his notes to me
    48        having made any contribution to this discussion.  So, for
    49        this assertion to be added to his statement three and a
    50        half years after the event must be pure speculation.  In 
    51        any event, he does not say in the statement what my 
    52        contribution was, whether or not I was for or against the 
    53        fair or whether I was against it being an anti-McDonald's
    54        fair or against it taking place at all.
    55
    56        On day 262, page 8, lines 54 and 55, he said that he could
    57        not recall whether or not I spoke against the fair, and on
    58        page 11 of the same day, line 15, he said he could not say
    59        what he was relying on when we put that in his statement,
    60        that I had participated in the discussion.

Prev Next Index