Stonefield writ row
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MBA MOTORS have served a libel writ against BBC Radio, for mg allegations of management malpractices in the Radio 4 eckpoint programme last week.
omba executive director chael Hendrie, who is resrisible for the former StoneId Vehicles factory in Cumk, Ayrshire, told CM that a t was issued against BBC dio on Friday morning, after programme instanced aled deficiencies in the manement of Stonefield and other st and present Gomba enterses.
r Hendrie said: "My colgues and I listened with unting anger to the distorns in the Checkpoint promme. Stonefield is in a cruI stage of its recovery and nnot survive without profits, d cannot make profits without ders.
"We have been working hard get orders and some import major ones are now in the lance. We tried to persuade BBC to give us a chance of tening to the broadcast before went on the air, so that we uld suggest corrections and in gaps. A deputation from r workforce travelled from otland on its own initiative to make a similar request. This was refused."
He concluded: "We have no alternative but to take proceedings for libel againSt the BBC."
Mr Hendrie told CM that he "wished he knew" upon what the BBC based its allegations against the company, and said that no fact at all was contained in the broadcast.
He added that he is still confident about the company's future, and said he found it unfortunate that it had to face such obstacles as last week's broadcast. He would not specify how many orders have been placed for the company's range of on/off highway vehicles, but said that over 140 have already been sold.
An Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers spokesman in Kilmarnock told CM that he was aware of "all sorts of rumours" about the company which had sprung up since Gomba took over earlier this year (CM, March 28), but said that he had been faced with a "deathly silence" when the Union tried to investigate.