Day 046 - 04 Nov 94 - Page 78


     
     1        does he know there a few complaints?  Where are the
     2        statistics provided by the Standards Authorities and
     3        whatever?  I mean, the point is, if we have an expert
     4        witness there must be, unless the credibility of the
     5        witness is shot to pieces in the first, you know, opening
     6        section, they do not know what they are talking about,
     7        there must be some kind of idea that they generally are not
     8        going to make things up.
     9
    10        If particular documents are sought after they have finished
    11        their evidence and it turns out they were completely lying,
    12        they had completely misrepresented a report, then that may
    13        be used to say that their evidence is not as credible as it
    14        was.  I think there has to be some kind of, dare I say,
    15        trust on each side for the smooth running of the case.
    16
    17   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It is not a matter of trust.  I have to say
    18        that many years experience dealing very largely with expert
    19        witnesses, particularly in the medical field, has shown me
    20        that witnesses of the highest personal standards and
    21        professional competence are quite capable of making
    22        ex cathedus statements, either which they cannot support or
    23        referring to surveys and papers which, when one looks at
    24        them closely, do not support the proposition they put
    25        forward.
    26
    27        I am afraid it must be something to do with human nature,
    28        but it is a fact of life.  I cannot put aside all those
    29        years of experience and just say:  "I will accept a
    30        scientific or other expert's statement of what the papers
    31        show, unless someone produces a paper which contradicts
    32        them".  That does not accord with my experience.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  Whatever the general processes that we are trying
    35        to set up during this trial, they have to apply to both
    36        sides.  Therefore, anything Mr. Rampton wants from Sue Dibb
    37        would have to apply to Kenneth Miles.
    38
    39   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, I agree with that.
    40
    41   MS. STEEL:  And it should have been served sometime last week
    42        seeing as he was supposed to give evidence today.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It has to work both ways.  If paragraph 9 of
    45        his statement starts, "Research shows that advertisements
    46        perform a valuable role of -- ", having said that, what
    47        I am about to read out I would have thought you certainly
    48        would not want to contradict, nor could it because it is a
    49        very general statement, it is:  "Research shows that
    50        advertisements perform a valuable role of information 
    51        (query whether it is valuable) and persuasion for both 
    52        parents and children, especially where food is concerned". 
    53        Well, that is part of your case.
    54
    55   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I do not see that Mr. Miles' evidence as
    56        requiring the sort of what one might call academic support
    57        for which if Miss Dibb's evidence (if it is to be credible)
    58        plainly must do.  Mr. Miles is called for a rather
    59        different purpose if one read his evidence properly.  He is
    60        not talking about the same thing as Miss Dibb at all.  He

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