'McLibel' case resumes

TWO activists sued by McDonald's are returning to court this week in the latest stage of their legal fight against the fast food giant.

Helen Steel and Dave Morris were sued by the US corporation in the so-called 'McLibel' trial over leaflets containing several damaging allegations about the fast food chain in the early 1990s.

The judge, Mr Justice Bell, ruled McDonald's had been libelled and awarded the company £60,000 in damages, 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.

Ms Steel, 39, and Mr Morris, 50, both from Tottenham, north London, will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg tomorrow.

The friends, who have not paid any of the damages, claim the original proceedings denied them their freedom of speech and right to a fair trial.