News and other Busyness

Copex Forced To Pay Up

Arms exhibitors fail to evade £32,000 legal costs

Squall 15, Summer 1997, pg. 12.

AN ARMS EXHIBITOR forced to drop libel actions against two peace campaigns was made to pay £32,000 legal costs in February.

COPEX - Covert and Operational Procurement Exhibitions (see Squalls 12 &14) - had their libel actions against Peace News and Campaign Against Arms Trade struck out of court last July after failing to show up.

The company tried to evade the legal costs it was ordered to pay. The sole director, Julian Winkley, said the company no longer existed after he resigned and tried to dissolve it.

But the Inland Revenue prevented this as the firm owed taxes. Copex were forced to pay up after CAAT and Peace News threatened to sue Winkley himself for the unpaid costs and infringement of company law.

CAAT, Peace News and a number of individuals were issued with writs by Copex after repeating claims in a Channel Four Dispatches programme that torture equipment displayed at the exhibitions.

AJ