As small fries go, the pair who became known as the McLibel Two proved to be a
force to be reckoned with.
Anyone who thought Dave Morris and Helen Steel would panic and apologise after the burger chain slapped libel writs on them seven years ago could not have been more mistaken. Morris and Steel were formidable adversaries and acquitted themselves admirably as amateur lawyers in their own defence and the underdogs were soon hailed as heroes by the environmental movement. Daily, the self-styled anarchists faced the McDonald's team of crack lawyers and Morris and Steel, with an annual income of less than #7,500 between them, had to learn the complex legal system as they went. All they had to go on was an initial two hours of free legal advice. They had no money to buy transcripts of the day's arguments, no solicitors and no training. They even had to commute each day to the mock gothic pile that is the Royal Courts of Justice on London's busy tube system discussing the day's tactics. |