Wendy Mayall, Unilever's chief investment officer, said she could not assess the risk in Merrill Lynch Investment Managers' portfolio in autumn 1996 because she had not familiarised herself with the details MLIM had given her about it.

The Unilever Superannuation Fund is suing MLIM, previously known as Mercury Asset Management, for £130m ($207.3m) for negligently taking too much risk when managing £1bn for it between January 1, 1997 and March 31, 1998. MLIM contests the claim.