Day 070 - 20 Dec 94 - Page 45
1 I would, I think, be very angry indeed. As they have been
2 levelled at me, I have the confidence to know that I do not
3 have to respond to them, save to say this only, that
4 Mr. Morris' conception of what is relevant to the issues in
5 this action does not accord with my own.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think such argument musts take their place
8 in the future.
9
10 MR. RAMPTON: That is all I would say.
11
12 MR. MORRIS: I was very careful in what I said, because I could
13 have said something four or five times as strong as
14 I said. I wished to say it -- and I am not going to -- but
15 I was only concerned in the pursuit of truth (which
16 I believe this case is about) and that it does not happen
17 again.
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Reserve any comment for its place in due
20 course.
21
22 MR. MORRIS: The privileged document which again has been
23 disclosed -- sorry.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That was meant to refer to the documents
26 I was asked to look at first thing this morning, was it?
27
28 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
29
30 MS. STEEL: I think the thing is, in theory, this has been dealt
31 with satisfactorily but, in practice, we were prevented
32 from cross-examination. Not only that; last night, Dave
33 asked Mr. Rampton whether he was going to withdraw his
34 application to save us all the time of looking up the
35 papers and preparing argument, and he said: "No." The fact
36 is that I spent virtually the whole of last night searching
37 for the case papers. I did not find them in the end, and
38 in the end we had to ask an assistant to go and research
39 them in the library and pay for copies to be made.
40
41 Really, I am quite unhappy about what has happened in this
42 case, about all the time and effort has been wasted, not
43 only with preparation for the argument last night, but with
44 the interruptions of cross-examination.
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Who is it you were concerned about with your
47 cross-examination?
48
49 MS. STEEL: Mr. Oakley. I do not think there is much point in
50 bringing him back now. It is when cross-examination is
51 interrupted and this, that and other objection is taken, it
52 interrupts the flow. Also, if you call them back at a
53 later date, it may be that they have had time to think
54 about what answers they want to give.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not prepared to say that it was a tactic
57 so far as Mr. Rampton is concerned, because I have been in
58 the position where I have changed my mind in cases about my
59 attitude to matters of admissibility. I must say I share
60 your regret that one was put to certain amount of work
