Talon Posted September 7, 2004 #1 Share Posted September 7, 2004 'MCLIBEL TWO' IN NEW CLAIM Two campaigners against McDonalds have begun a new phase in their epic legal battle against the fast food giant. The "McLibel two" - Helen Steel and David Morris - first took on McDonald's and lost in a 314 day libel action which ended in 1997. The pair have now gone to the European Court of Human Rights to argue that English libel law favours the rich and powerful, and is a breach of their human rights. Keir Starmer QC, representing Ms Steel and Mr Morris, told the court: "This case is about the rights of two ordinary people without power or wealth to engage in a public campaign on matters of public interest and importance." He said English libel law breached the Human Rights Convention because of the stark inequality between an ordinary couple and a massive corporation. McDonald's mustered the most expensive lawyers and deployed all the resources of a multinational. But Ms Steel and Mr Morris had had to struggle to argue their case without Legal Aid or the money to provide the legal expertise they required. English libel law clearly did not meet the requirements of the Human Rights Convention, which guarantees the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of expression, Mr Starmer said. Ms Steel, 39, and Mr Morris, 50, were taken to court by McDonald's for campaigning against the company, handing out leaflets entitled: "What's wrong with McDonald's?" The leaflets made serious allegations about the company's business conduct and the nutritional value of its burgers. The High Court in London ruled at the end of the 314-day trial that McDonald's had been libelled, and awarded the company £60,000 in damages for defamation, reduced to £40,000 on appeal. But the Court also declared that the leaflet was accurte in accusing McDonald's of paying low wages, being responsible for cruelty to some of the animals used in its food products and exploiting children in advertising campaigns. http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-13217013,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted September 8, 2004 #2 Share Posted September 8, 2004 maybe they lost because they have no case? rerere almost as bad as McFat people suing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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