Day 202 - 11 Jan 96 - Page 12


     
     1        Tracey Melan (?) was probably right, that she first noticed
     2        it in September 1990; and he accepted that the documents
     3        that she kept -- which are dated, I think, 28th or
     4        29th November 1990 -- did indeed show a systematic and
     5        large scale docking of crew's hours.
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am grateful, because I had in mind October
     8        1995, so I was a month out in my recollection.  It was
     9        about that time.
    10
    11   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes, my Lord.  There was September, and then there
    12        was a gap, and then there were the actual documents for the
    13        end of November 1990.
    14
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Thank you.  (To the witness)  But when
    16        Neil Skehel went in in February -- beginning of February,
    17        I think it was -- he began to uncover things, one of which
    18        was that people had not been paid for hours they had done;
    19        and there were incidents of that which had occurred the
    20        previous autumn.  Can you recall or not now?
    21        A.  I cannot recall the incidents happening the previous
    22        autumn.
    23
    24   Q.   No.  Well, it is not right to ask you to draw conclusions
    25        always if you are not confident of the factual basis for it
    26        all.  But if there had been docking of pay, for instance,
    27        the previous autumn, which Mark Davis was not party to,
    28        there was no more reason why he should not have discovered
    29        it than Neil Skehel?
    30        A.  Yes, that is correct.  If it had been going on, it was
    31        as likely that Mark Davis would have discovered is it as
    32        Neil would have discovered it.
    33
    34   Q.   He should have discovered it, unless he already knew about
    35        it?  He should have discovered it, should he, or not?
    36        A.  I do not know how you can assume whether he should
    37        discover it or not.  If you can recollect, at this time
    38        I was unaware that it was happening.  That seems to be
    39        based on assumptions that it was happening, docking hours
    40        was happening, and Mark Davis was unaware of it and
    41        Ray continued to do this practice and then, suddenly, Neil
    42        stumbled over it.  From my point of view, this docking of
    43        crew hours is a complete anathema (sic).  I never heard of
    44        it and, you know, it was not around.
    45
    46   Q.   No one has suggested you did know about it, Mr. Atherton.
    47        What I am trying to get my mind round is, when Neil Skehel
    48        came in, whatever Mr. Morris puts to you about personality
    49        conflicts, he was a very keen and assiduous area
    50        Supervisor? 
    51        A.  He was a very good area Supervisor, yes. 
    52 
    53   Q.   And he discovered it?
    54        A.  Yes.  I would say that he had a greater attention to
    55        detail than Mark Davis, and that is perhaps the very nitty
    56        gritty of things.  That is perhaps why, again speculating,
    57        why he would have discovered something like that.
    58
    59   Q.   Yes.
    60        A.  Again, when you go into a new job, you do have a sort

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