A massive lawsuit which became a thorn in the flesh of burger giant McDonald's returned to court yesterday with an appeal by two environmental campaigners against a judge's ruling that they had libelled the fast food chain.
Ms Helen Steel and Mr Dave Morris were ordered in June 1997 to pay £60,000 libel damages after a 314-day trial - the longest in English legal history - which is reckoned to have cost McDonald's £10 million.
Yesterday Mr Morris (44) told three Court of Appeal judges that the company had never applied for its damages or costs or for an injunction banning further publication of the green campaign leaflet.
The judge in the original trial ruled that the company had been libelled by most of the allegations in the leaflet entitled What's Wrong With McDonald's?, including claims it poisoned its customers and exploited Third World countries.