Day 255 - 23 May 96 - Page 24
1 our franchisees. It was affecting our employs. It was
2 affecting our business.
3
4 Q. So there were a lot of people who were believing it?
5 A. No.
6
7 Q. If there they were not believing it, why should it affect
8 your business?
9 A. It affected our franchisees who were concerned about
10 it.
11
12 Q. You mean in term of morale and things like that?
13 A. Yes, in terms of: "Why are you not (the English company
14 where this is coming from) taking steps to stop this?".
15
16 Q. It was not affecting them in terms of a loss of custom or
17 anything like that?
18 A. I do not know.
19
20 Q. You do not know?
21 A. I cannot measure that, no.
22
23 Q. Tab 21 is a letter from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert dated 20th
24 October 1989 to Granada Television Limited about a
25 programme screened on 13th October 1989 and 14th October,
26 news programmes featuring a demonstration outside the store
27 in Manchester saying:
28
29 "The inference of the news feature was that McDonald's was
30 implicated directly or indirectly in destruction of
31 rainforests."
32
33 Then you go on to say that it is wholly without
34 foundation. Do you remember this letter?
35 A. No.
36
37 Q. You do not remember it at all?
38 A. No.
39
40 Q. In this case the letter refers to the fact that writs will
41 be served unless there is a going to be a statement in open
42 court retracting the statements.
43 A. I cannot remember this letter.
44
45 Q. You do not remember it at all?
46 A. No.
47
48 Q. All the paragraphs that are there, they are basically the
49 standard paragraphs you send out every time anyone
50 criticises McDonald's in relation to rainforests?
51 A. Could you direct me to the paragraphs because I have
52 not had time to read this whole letter.
53
54 Q. For example, on the second page, the paragraphs about the
55 Worldwide Life Fund, Norman Myers, George Cohen and Prince
56 Philip, and about the BBC making an apology, they seem to
57 appear in quite a lot of letters?
58 A. I think we used those this a number of letters, yes.
59
60 Q. Basically you were using them as a means of convincing
