FOR THIRTY-FIVE years author David Irving has kept a private diary. It has proven useful in countless actions. For the information of his many supporters he publishes an edited text in his irregular newsletter ACTION REPORT.	Summary British writer David Irving is suing American professor of religion Deborah Lipstadt in Libel, for lies about him contained in her book Denying the Holocaust, which she wrote at the behest of Vidal Sassoon, Yad Vashem, and other similar agencies. The action will be tried in 1999. In a hearing in chambers at the High Court on October 2, 1998 Prof. Lipstadt's lawyers urged the court to allow two slanderous affaidavits sworn by one Jonathan Mozzochi to stand. Mr Irving (and the court) disagreed.
CTOBER 2, 1998   TO THE HIGH COURT at 3 p.m. [Deborah Lipstadt's lawyers] Anthony Julius, James Libson, and their law expert, a nice young tousle-haired man, come in due course. Master Trench is practice master today, the term having begun, which means he does not have enough time to deal with our matters. He says he will take only the matter concerning the order to provide copies of the Goebbels Diaries, and my complaint about the defective first and second Jonathan Mozzochi affidavits. Julius begins by saying he wanted to take up four matters, namely "the New Order" (in fact he says new order, but for a moment I am startled); then Mozzochi, then my summons, and then the restore-Directions matter. On Mozzochi, Master Trench hears both sides. I say that I do not believe a P O Box can be regarded under Order 41 as a "place where he works." The rules are quite plain. We are confronted with this situation: I have lived at the same address off Grosvenor Square for thirty years, and have had the same phone number for thirty years. To attack my name, Deborah Lipstadt has produced two scandalous affidavits written by a U.S. Pacific coast fly-by-night, who gives only an "accommodation address" (Master Trench's word) for a job which he has since left by his own admission, and who appears to have a police record. Julius makes a rather weakly stated plea that no doubt the Coalition operates from a P O Box for fear of firebomb attacks etc. I think that either he has had genuine difficulty in locating their witness, or he has his own reasons for not wanting me to locate him. Whatever the reason, Master Trench finds in my favour, ordering that "both affidavits should be taken out of the file, and not be used." He doesn't normally take this line, he adds, but the affidavits sworn by Mozzochi contain "allegations [which] are strongly made" and should not be allowed to stand on the file since the affidavits fail to comply with all the rules. The result is that the names of four alleged rightwingers listed by Mozzochi are removed from the list of my discovery obligations; I barely know the gentlemen anyway. It is the general smear effect of the affidavits that concerns me. Julius, unwilling to give up too easily, asks whether, if he can establish "an office front" for the Coalition for Human Dignity, this will satisfy the court. Besides, he reminded the court, under Order 24 I am obliged to discover all my dealings with these gentlemen anyway. "Only if they are rightwing extremists," I point out. "And we had only Mr Mozzochi's word for that." A satisfactory afternoon, but a waste of time: I copy-edit Churchill's War, vol. ii while waiting.
© David Irving 1998.

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