| name: | Mike Love |
| occupation: | Head of Communications for McDonald's UK |
previous experience:
Love is Head of Communications for McDonald's UK. Before he took up the post at McDonald's, he was the Conservative Party constituency manager for Margaret Thatcher. McDonald's European Headquarters, where Love has his office, is (coincidentally?) located in Thatcher's former constituency of East Finchley (London). Love's name appeared at the bottom of the leaflet produced by McDonald's in Spring 1994, which is the subject of the Counterclaim brought by the McLibel Defendants in the case.
Love has spoken to the press at times but has mostly been silent during the trial. He occasionally appears in court. The McDonald's confidential internal memo, which was leaked to Australian documentary makers and which set out the company's strategy in relation to the documentary, had Love's name on the front.
quotes:
Not surprisingly, Love often bends the truth to the point of breaking or beyond. "We take the views of local people in any locality where we are already doing business or where we hope to do business very seriously indeed. That is why we would listen to local residents," he said in April 1995.
Despite a sizeable petition signed by local residents against the opening of a store at Kings Cross in London and and the rejection of the company's planning application by the Council, McDonald's went back to the councillors with carrot and stick. The company eventually got its way. "If there are concerns in an area about a restaurant opening then meetings would be held with residents," claims Love, "That is a matter of routine in the very few cases where there are local objections."
According to Harvey Bass (vice-chair of the Kings Cross Neighbourhood Association), McDonald's never put its case to local residents or listened to their concerns. "They don't deal with people, they just deal with council officers," says Bass. "It's just money, money, money with them." [See Press Release re Kings Cross Protest for further details.]
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