It was one of the sights of the London rush hour for several years in the mid 1990s: Dave Morris and Helen Steel, an unemployed gardener and a postman, preparing legal notes under the armpits of commuters as they headed to the high court to defend themselves against ?2,000-a-day libel lawyers employed by one of the world's richest corporations.
"McLibel," as the case became known, was England's longest and most one-sided civil court case. The food giant McDonald's and its crack legal team had expected to take just a few weeks to get an easy judgment against the two legally-naive Londoners.
The issue was a pamphlet, written in the 1980s and distributed to just a few people, which accused the fast-food multinational of dozens of malpractices.
But it ended up being a 313-day court experience, costing McDonald's ?10 million and masses of bad publicity, and Steel and Morris -- the "McLibel Two" -- having to give up more than 10 years to fight for the principle of free speech, without legal aid or a jury.
Both sides claimed victory when the case ended in 1997, but the judge, Justice Rodger Bell, fined Steel and Morris ?76,000, which they have not paid.
EU paying for case
Yesterday morning, the last and perhaps most significant act of McLibel was to be played out in the European court of human rights in Brussels. Lawyers for Steel and Morris -- this time paid out of EU legal aid funds -- will appear for two hours in front of 15 judges to try to force the British government to change the libel laws which many believe stifle free speech, favor the rich and are out of step with other states.
To the relief of the McLibel Two, they will not have to say anything. The evidence will be presented in written form, with a 10-page summary of more than 40,000 pages of court testimony and legal arguments made at the time.
Human rights claim
Their lawyers will claim that the UK courts breached two articles of the human rights convention, giving them neither a fair trial nor the right to freedom of expression. Being made to prove the absolute truth of every assertion in the pamphlet contravened the principle of free speech, they will say. It was impossible to defend themselves properly without legal aid, and that multinational companies should be in the same position as governments and local authorities and not be allowed to sue individuals.
"The contrast and inequality between the two parties' legal assistance could not have been greater," says their submission to the European court. "McDonald's were represented by a top British trial lawyer specializing in libel law, a team of three or four other lawyers and the resources of a large law firm ... All [Steel and Morris] could hope to do was keep going ... two inexperienced, untrained and exhausted individuals who were pushed to their physical and mental limits."
If they win, the UK government will be under serious pressure to amend British libel laws.
"The thrust of the case is that the British judicial system is based on an adversarial model, where each party is equally armed," said Mark Stephens, of the UK-based Finers Stephens Innocent law firm. "It will be argued that because Steel and Morris had no legal aid, they were unable to get witnesses and scientific expertise.
Morris, 50, a former postman and union activist, is still a community activist in north London, which works with unions and community groups. Steel, 38, a gardener before taking on McDonald's, is now an electrician.
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