Day 172 - 12 Oct 95 - Page 04

     
     1   MR. MORRIS:  Can you see your statement?
     2        A.  Yes.
     3
     4   Q.   Shall I read it out?  Would that be appropriate?  I will
     5        read it out.  It is November 29th, 1993.
     6
     7        "Dear Mr. Morris, I write to confirm the veracity of the
     8        article published by the Daily Mirror on December 17th,
     9        1986.  I was the Mirror's industrial editor at that time,
    10        and I recall the interview with Mr. Nicholson who used the
    11        words attributed to him in my story.  Yours faithfully,
    12        Terry Pattinson."
    13
    14        Is that truly the case?
    15        A.  Yes.
    16
    17   Q.   If you look over the page, is that the article which was
    18        published which you wrote?
    19        A.  Yes.  I think it was a bigger showing in an earlier
    20        edition; I think there is a truncated version.
    21
    22   Q.   Can I just ask you one question before I go into the detail
    23        of the article.  You say that you were industrial editor of
    24        the Daily Mirror from 1986 onwards.  Before that time, were
    25        you writing a lot of articles about industrial matters?
    26        A.  Yes.  I was the Daily Mirror's industrial correspondent
    27        from 1975.  I was actually promoted to industrial editor in
    28        1986.  So I have actually been writing about industrial
    29        affairs since 1972 altogether.  Prior to the Mirror, I was
    30        on the Daily Express.
    31
    32   Q.   Had you interviewed people from companies before?
    33        A.  Oh, yes.
    34
    35   Q.   Representatives of big companies?
    36        A.  Yes.
    37
    38   Q.   It was routine?
    39        A.  My job was labour relations, full-time.  So I was
    40        interviewing, you know, bosses, captains of industry,
         employees, union leaders, all the time.
    42
    43   Q.   So you were very familiar with the subject?
    44        A.  Yes.
    45
    46   Q.   If you read that article to yourself, that article as a
    47        whole, is that all true, to your knowledge?
    48        A.  Yes.
    49
    50   Q.   Coming to the specific section referring to Sid Nicholson, 
    51        McDonald's personnel chief, you have said he "said last 
    52        night".  How did that conversation arise? 
    53        A.  From memory, I obtained his home telephone number,
    54        probably from the Company, and I rang him at home.  I was
    55        also at home.
    56
    57   Q.   Right.  So it was a phone call?
    58        A.  Yes.
    59
    60   Q.   You quoted him as saying: "We do not have an anti-union