'McLibel' case finally over after 15 years

The longest legal case in British history is finally over, it seems. The McLibel pair, who were sued by McDonald's after handing out leaflets alleging all sorts of things, have won their case against the government who denied them legal aid. By law, legal aid is not given for libel actions but, as these two successfully argued, that amounts to denying them the right to defend their right to free speech - if you see what I mean.

The libel laws here are a bit bizarre. If you are libelled or slandered, it is extremely costly to sue someone, and almost impossible to win your case as you have to show that the things said about you are not true.

But, as this case shows, if you have the money you can sue to your heart's content and, as usually happens, hope your weaker opponent rolls over. And if they don't, and you can afford good counsel, you're likely to win on obscure details rather than the broader truth.

The 'nice' thing about the McLibel case was the defendants insisted on answering each and every one of McDonald's complaints against them in painful detail, in open court. Although in the end they 'lost', the final judgement was damning for the company. Makes you proud to be British!

BBC NEWS | UK | 'McLibel' pair win legal aid case: "The legal wrangle - the longest civil or criminal action in English legal history - was triggered when McDonald's decided to act against former gardener Helen Steel, 39, and former postman David Morris, 50.

Libellous leaflets

The leaflets they handed out, containing damaging allegations about McDonald's, were compiled by London Greenpeace - which is not linked to the Greenpeace International environmental group.

Neither Ms Steel nor Mr Morris had any hand in writing the leaflets, but became embroiled in a libel action launched in 1990 and which ended only in 1997 - with a total of 314 days spent in court.

High Court judge Mr Justice Bell ruled McDonald's had been libelled and awarded the company £60,000 in damages, which was later reduced to £40,000 on appeal.

But he found the leaflet was true when it accused McDonald's of paying low wages to its workers, being responsible for cruelty to some of the animals used in its food products and exploiting children in advertising campaigns.

The case is thought to have cost the fast food giant £10m and was described as 'the biggest corporate PR disaster in history'."

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