Interview

Dan Mills talks briefly about the McLibel Support Campaign.


    Dan Mills is a qualified solicitor/attorney who gave up his job in 1994 to co-ordinate the McLibel Support Campaign. As the Campaign's co-ordinator, he has been a valuable part of the Defence team.

    Dan Mills was interviewed in June 1996 by One-Off Productions for their TV documentary, McLibel: Two Worlds Collide.

 [ dan mills - the extrordinary one ]

How did you get involved in this whole business?

Well, I heard about the McLibel case while I was a trainee lawyer working for a large British solicitors' firm. It interested me because it combined my interest in the law with issues I feel passionately about.

So I started going to meetings of the McLibel Support Campaign in early 1994 and quickly became involved in the Campaign.

It sounds as though you became very involved. What happened?

Very soon after I started going to meetings, I became heavily involved. The McLibel Support Campaign office was being set up at the time so it needed a co-ordinator. I volunteered to take on that task and it quickly became a full time job. By the time my two year contract with the law firm came to an end in September 1994, it seemed the natural thing to come and work for McLibel full-time as a volunteer. That's what I have been doing for the last two years.

What does the support group do?

Well, the McLibel Support Campaign was set up shortly after the writs were served on Helen and Dave in 1990 and it's there to generate solidarity and financial backing for Helen and Dave and also to continue the campaign against McDonald's that was started by London Greenpeace in the 1980's.

So what sort of numbers are we talking about here?

Fundamentally, the anti-McDonald's movement around the world is a grassroots movement, and we are supporting and assisting that movement as well as helping Helen & Dave in their courtcase against the company
There's about 15 to 20 people who are closely involved in the McLibel Support Campaign on a day-to-day basis, then there's about another 90 to 100 people in London who help out with with different tasks from time to time. Beyond that there are thousands of people in this country campaigning against McDonald's with whom we are in touch. We also have support groups in several other countries and we are in touch with supporters campaigning against McDonalds around the world. Fundamentally, the anti-McDonald's movement around the world is a grassroots movement, and we are supporting and assisting that movement as well as helping Helen & Dave in their courtcase against the company.

It's an awful lot of commitment by a lot of people - what's the motivation behind it?

The reason we're doing this is because fundamentally we feel that McDonald's is a bad thing in the world - they are exploiting people, animals and the environment. Also, the fact that they're trying to silence their critics through this legal action makes them particularly obnoxious to a lot of people. I think these two aspects are why the Campaign has been going from strength to strength over the last five years.

The reason we're doing this is because fundamentally we feel that McDonald's is a bad thing in the world - they are exploiting people, animals and the environment

You obviously must have felt about it very strongly to have given up your job prospects for a few years?

Yes, well, I think it's a unique opportunity really. I think this situation will only occur once in my lifetime: having a multinational company in the dock being forced to justify what it does around the world, and with its top executives being cross-examined on oath by campaigners.

You mentioned finances. How has the campaign been funded and what sort of sums are we talking about?

The McLibel Support Campaign has been funded entirely from donations from members of the public. Just ordinary people sending in whatever they can afford to make sure that the Defence is funded and that the campaign against McDonald's continues
The McLibel Support Campaign has been funded entirely from donations from members of the public. Just ordinary people sending in whatever they can afford to make sure that the Defence is funded and that the campaign against McDonald's continues. There have been a few well-known people who've given some money, such as Linda McCartney, who gave a thousand pounds a few years ago, but the vast majority of donations have come from ordinary members of the public.

What sort of total have you got, and is it enough to keep you going?

Well, over 5 years Helen and Dave have spent about 30,000 pounds on legal costs and we've probably spent half as much again on other campaign expenses. So not a lot of money really, considering how much McDonald's spends on advertising and promotions. It's also about equal to the amount that McDonald's is spending on the case in a few days.

Has that money been spent on paying the Campaign staff?

No. All the people who work with the Campaign are doing it for free as volunteers because they feel it's important. No-one in the Campaign is paid.

So it sounds like quite a lot of money - 30,000 pounds. What has that been spent on?

The 30,000 pounds has mainly gone on the expenses in getting witnesses to court (though none of the witnesses have been paid for giving evidence) and on paying for the official court transcripts. Then there's administrative expenses on top of that. However, none of the money has gone on paying salaries to any people who are involved in the campaign because everyone is working as a volunteer.
The 30,000 pounds has mainly gone on the expenses in getting witnesses to court (though none of the witnesses have been paid for giving evidence) and on paying for the official court transcripts

So let's just take an average week if we could. What sort of things is the Campaign team doing in order to support Helen and Dave?

Well, we produce a lot of campaigning leaflets and detailed summaries of the evidence in the case. There are many people who write to us or phone asking for information and we send off information packs to them, and we also handle bulk orders for "What's Wrong With McDonald's?" leaflets. In addition, we have a range of merchandise which we sell on stalls and by mail order. Many journalists call us wanting to interview Helen and Dave or do various stories for the TV or print media, so we co-ordinate that and make sure that they're fully informed of what's going on and organise interviews when appropriate. Now we're also linked up to the Internet so we're receiving e-mails, keeping in touch with people that way and with the people running the McSpotlight website. We also do a lot of outreach work by having information stalls at indoor and outdoor events (such as festivals), and by sending speakers to address conferences, group meetings, etc.

So in a nutshell?

We respond to any requests for information or bulk orders for leaflets from the public and we also keep in touch with journalists by sending out press releases and so on. In addition, we handle any requests for interviews.

So there isn't legal work as such, helping Dave and Helen prepare for the next day in the case?

No, not from this office, not by the Campaign. There are lawyers who help Helen and Dave on an informal basis, but they don't work out of this office. Helen & Dave do the vast amount of the legal work and preparation themselves.

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