Day 146 - 03 Jul 95 - Page 04

     
     1        management manipulation, anti-union practices", to see that
     2        it is written by somebody who has an interest in providing
     3        the reader with a false account of the evidence.
     4
     5        My Lord, I do not expect the Defendants either to accept
     6        that it is one sided or to admit that they had anything to
     7        do with the composition of this document, whether directly
     8        or indirectly.  To be quite frank with your Lordship, I do
     9        not much mind what the Defendants say about it.
    10
    11        The position at present is that we are satisfied that the
    12        transcripts used for the composition of this document can
    13        only have come from the Defendants; the reason being pretty
    14        obvious, that we have not been supplying transcripts to the
    15        McLibel support campaign and, so far as I am aware, nor
    16        have Barnett Lenton.
    17
    18        My Lord, that leaves us in this position that, subject to
    19        the interests of the administration of justice in this
    20        case, we would now stop paying for both CaseView and the
         transcripts so far as the Defendants are concerned without
    22        further notice; that is to say, from today onwards.  The
    23        reason that we have not done that, despite the great
    24        anxiety which this misuse or abuse (if I may call it that)
    25        has caused in my clients is that, quite obviously, we would
    26        take very serious account of anything that your Lordship
    27        had to say about an express wish now to cut off the
    28        Defendants' supply of transcripts and CaseView without
    29        further ado.
    30
    31        It is for that reason, and that reason alone, that I have
    32        raised the matter.  I do not need, I believe, your
    33        Lordship's permission to do that, but, as I say, if your
    34        Lordship thought for one reason or another that on balance
    35        it was a bad idea, that is something which we would take
    36        very seriously indeed.
    37
    38        My Lord, I leave that matter there.  I will say no more
    39        about it except, obviously, the matter is urgent because it
    40        has started up again and, no doubt, will continue.  We
         would like to be able to make a decision as to what we do
    42        in the near future.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What is the situation?  CaseView would not be
    45        here at all were you not funding it?
    46
    47   MR. RAMPTON:  No, neither CaseView nor daily transcripts.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Nor daily transcripts?
    50 
    51   MR. RAMPTON:  No.  I remind your Lordship of one other fact -- 
    52        your Lordship has probably remembered it but just in case 
    53         -- there was -- it is no longer here, I notice -- a file
    54        which the Defendants had, or two files, containing copies
    55        of the transcript on what appeared to be "recycled paper"
    56        and on the outside of it words something to the effect
    57        "Returned to the McLibel Two" or "McLibel Defendants".
    58        Those words, of course, speak for themselves.  My Lord, if
    59        I had to make a legal submission about it, it would be
    60        this, though I do not believe I do.