Letters
The Crossman libel
Sir: Can I add a footnote to the story of the Crnssman-Bevan-phillips libel action against the Spectator? Five or six years afterwards I met the property millionaire, the late Howard Samuel, at a party given by Michael Foot. Samuel told me casually, almost as a comic anecdote, that the three -Plaintiffs had been very hesitant about Proceedings until he had promised to pay all their costs if they lost. I pointed out to him that, as I understood the law, this was an offence called 'barratry' and might be deemed especially pernicious since he could have a commercial interest, as a major shareholder in the New Statesman and a major backer of Tribune, in harassing a rival weekly. He became very agitated, knocked over a large bowl of Peanuts, and spent the next ten minutes on his hands and knees obsessively picking up every one. I took this to mean he had no Wish to continue the conversation and I moved along.
Alan Brien 14 Falkland Road, London NW5
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