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Macdonalds;libel Law And Public Rights

EDM number 272 in 1997-98, proposed by Jeremy Corbyn on 17/07/1997.

That this House, following the recent conclusion of McDonald's Corporation and McDonald's Restaurants Ltd vs Steel and Morris, the longest case in English legal history, notes with alarm the denial of legal aid and a jury trial for the unrepresented defendants, that the burden of proof rested on the defence who were presumed guilty until proven innocent, and Mr Justice Bell's finding that the defendants' counterclaim fell because, although McDonald's had issued defamatory, inaccurate and 'malicious' literature on the eve of trial to 'discredit' and to 'vent spite' on the defendants; further notes that United Kingdom anti-McDonald's campaigners have refused to recognise the verdict, distributing 400,000 leaflets on the Saturday after, and that the case has focused worldwide attention and condemnation of United Kingdom libel law; believes that interminable, complex, expensive, elitest, unfair and oppressive libel laws and procedures stacked in favour of rich and powerful plaintiffs have brought the courts into disrepute and are in need of urgent reform to safeguard public rights; and calls for multinationals to be treated in the same way as Government bodies which no longer have a right to sue for libel.

This motion has been signed by a total of 14 MPs.

MPDateConstituencyPartyType
Jeremy Corbyn17/07/1997Islington NorthLabourProposed
Norman Baker22/07/1997LewesLiberal DemocratSigned
Ken Livingstone23/07/1997Brent EastLabourSigned
John Cryer23/07/1997HornchurchLabourSigned
David Taylor23/07/1997North West LeicestershireLabour Co-operativeSigned
Kelvin Hopkins24/07/1997Luton NorthLabourSigned
John McDonnell24/07/1997Hayes & HarlingtonLabourSigned
Norman Godman24/07/1997Greenock & InverclydeLabourSigned
Christine Butler28/07/1997Castle PointLabourSigned
John Austin28/07/1997Erith & ThamesmeadLabourSigned
Harry Barnes30/07/1997North East DerbyshireLabourSigned
Terry Davis11/03/1998Birmingham, Hodge HillLabourSigned
Audrey Wise24/03/1998PrestonLabourSigned
Tess Kingham26/03/1998GloucesterLabourSigned

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