The Press Conference

Transcript of a press conference held by Larkspur Toys at its factory in Ashby, 8:00 a.m., the day after the recall of the Bouncing Bertie toy.

GHISLAINE (spokesperson): Good morning, and thank you for coming at short notice. Yesterday afternoon, Larkspur Toys announced the voluntary recall of every Bouncing Bertie sold since March. We have received reports that, in a small number of cases, the battery cover can come loose, exposing a button battery that could be swallowed by a young child. No injuries have been reported, but we are not prepared to take that risk, and we acted as soon as we became aware of the problem. Parents are asked to remove the toy from their children immediately and return it to any store for a full refund. I'll take a few questions.

REPORTER (Daily Courier): How many units are affected?

GHISLAINE: Approximately two hundred and forty thousand, across eleven countries.

REPORTER (Radio Midlands): Is the factory going to stop production?

GHISLAINE: Production of that model was suspended last night, and it will remain suspended until an independent laboratory has approved a redesigned cover.

MOSS (The Ledger): Your statement says that you acted "as soon as we became aware of the problem." When, exactly, did the company first become aware of it?

GHISLAINE: As I said, we acted as soon as... (pause)

There was a long silence. Ghislaine glanced at the sheet of paper in front of her, on which the answer to this question had been written out for her the night before, and then at Mr. Arceneaux, the managing director, who was standing at the side of the room and gave her the smallest of nods. She put the paper down.

GHISLAINE: I'm going to answer that properly, because you're entitled to a proper answer. Eight months ago, one of our own engineers wrote a report warning that the cover might not hold if the toy was dropped repeatedly. That report was not acted upon. I didn't know it existed until eleven o'clock last night, when I was preparing for this conference, and I'm not willing to stand here and pretend otherwise. Had that warning been taken seriously, this toy would never have reached a single shop. The engineer who wrote it deserves an apology, and so do the parents who trusted us. I'm sure there will be consequences for that decision, and I'd rather they began with honesty than with a script. That's all I have to say this morning.