Beeb and C4 steer clear of McLibel doc.

As a controversial documentary about the McDonald's court case gets dropped, the question is: do our libel laws simply allow multinationals to censor the press?  

The BBC and Channel 4 have cancelled plans to show a documentary following the David-and-Goliath battle between the multinational McDonald's corporation and two penniless environmental activists. Both the BBC and C4 have been threatened with litigation by McDonald's in the past. C4 apologised to McDonald's over 'Jungleburger' in 1989, and the BBC broadcast an apology to the company over an episode of 'Nature' in 1984.

'We had firm commitment from the BBC, we even had a slot in the schedules. But then they pulled it on the advice of their lawyers. C4 was also very impressed with the film and wanted to buy it,' said the film's director, Franny Armstrong. 'Nobody is arguing against the film on quality grounds. I think they're just too scared to show it. I'm not blaming the broadcasters. I think the libel laws should not allow multinationals to censor the press.'.

The McLibel documentary (made on a shoestring by a tiny east London production company), which features dramatised courtroom reconstructions directed by award winning film-maker Ken Loach, follows London environmentalists Helen Steel and Dave Morris from the start of their three-year battle with McDonald's, the longest libel trial in British legal history.

In his verdict last year, Mr Justice Bell was critical of McDonald's in some areas but still found Steel and Morris had libelled the corporation with their leaflet 'What's Wrong With McDonald's?' by claiming it was directly responsible for the destruction of rainforests. Now the duo are campaigning to try to get the British libel laws changed.

Solicitor Robin Lewis of Bindmans, who advised Armstrong during the making of the film, told Time Out: 'The worry is that broadcasters have taken the McLibel case as a warning-off. The message is: you criticise us at your peril.'

But a spolkesman for C4 said it's lawyers found the film repeated libels and was 'untransmittable'. 'It was intrinsically libellous and not just a matter of a few small edits.'

Meanwhile Morris and Steel will be in court again next month to kick off their appeal against the verdict.

There will be a screening of (and public debate on) the McLibel video on June 20 at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith (details on 0181 237 1111). To order a copy of the video send a cheque for £14.99 (payable to One-Off Prodcutions) to BCM Oops, London, WC1N 3XX.

 
 
Riverside Cinema

Sat 20 at 4pm. 'McLibel: Two Worlds Collide (Franny Armstrong, 1998, GB) documentary featuring Helen Steel, Dave Morris and Michael Mansfield. 53 minutes.  

When McDonald's decided to prosecute Helen Steel and Dave Morris for libel, the corporation's lawyers anticipated the trial would last between three and four weeks. In fact, it would drag on for two-and-a-half years - the longest trial in English history. The verdict, when it came, upheld half of the environmentalists' claims, about the way McDonald's treat their workers and the animals they slaughter, and about how they cynically exploit children in misleading advertising promotions. The judge decreed that it was not proven theat McDonald's were responsible for the destruction of the rainforest and that burgers don't necessarily give you cancer.

This powerful, campaigning documentary mixes footage shot over the course of the trial, interviews with the defendants, and dramatic reconstructions (apparently shot by Ken Loach, presumably as penance for having directed a McDonald's ad some years back). It's an important story that will make you think twice about eating junk food - and what civil liberties are worth in the corporate era. (The TV companies have rejected the film. See also the News feature in this magazine.)

Tom Charity.

 
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