Day 123 - 09 May 95 - Page 09

     
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     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can you remember any, in particular?
     3        A.  Yes, some of the headlines, "McDeadly", "McCancer",
     4        "McMurder", "McTorture", those things.  It was the first
     5        time I had seen those.
     6
     7   MR. MORRIS:  As it is a very important line of questioning, if
     8        you like, would it be possible to have a five-minute break
     9        now for Mr. Beavers to have a chance to read it?
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I do not want to lose the time over it.
    12        Come back to it, if you want.  How far it will actually
    13        take me at the end of the day, I do not know, compared with
    14        my findings as to what is accurate and what, if anything,
    15        is inaccurate.  Mr. Beavers' stand was, you will remember,
    16        he started by saying it was all inaccurate, and the action
    17        was brought to protect the Plaintiffs' -- in the plural --
    18        reputation.
    19
    20   MR. MORRIS:  Maybe if I could just go through things?
    21
    22   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If I could just ask you to think about this,
    23        is not an awful lot going to depend, therefore, on what at
    24        the end of the day I find to be inaccurate ---
    25
    26   MR. MORRIS:  I understand that.
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   -- if anything, rather than Mr. Beavers has
    29        made his stand clear, for better or worse.
    30
    31   MR. MORRIS:  Just maybe if I refer to some specific things?
    32
    33   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    34
    35   MR. MORRIS:  Obviously, the first section is about economics --
    36        we will leave that one -- but the second section is about
    37        rainforests.  McDonald's was the subject of a campaign in
    38        the 1980s about its alleged involved in rainforest
    39        destruction; is that correct?  Are you aware of that?
    40        A.  I am aware of that, yes.
    41
    42   Q.   Which even got as far as Prince Philip criticising
    43        McDonald's; is that fair enough?  It is established in the
    44        case any way.
    45
    46   MR. RAMPTON:  No, my Lord.  It is established in one sense, of
    47        course, but what Mr. Morris has not told the witness is
    48        what the outcome was.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  No, I am not saying ----- 
    51 
    52   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, if the point is -- I am not sure it is at 
    53        all important, contrary to what Mr. Morris is saying -- an
    54        important point, then what matters is what the outcome was
    55        so far as McDonald's is concerned.
    56
    57   MR. MORRIS:  Regarding the next section on food, McDonald's food
    58        has been been criticised for being unhealthy, has it not,
    59        in America?
    60        A.  It has been criticised, but it is untrue.