Day 255 - 23 May 96 - Page 60


     
     1        waiver as the Defendants might hope and it is essential we
     2        do not get bogged down in a speculative argument about what
     3        the law actually is when we can find it out by reading the
     4        cases.
     5
     6   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  Is it fair to say this, that you have
     7        at the moment waived any privilege in relation to the
     8        observations and investigations actually carried out by the
     9        four inquiry agents whom you propose to call?
    10
    11   MR. RAMPTON:  On the occasions, the specified occasions which
    12        are relevant to this case which they describe.  That is
    13        right.
    14
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  To which they refer, but you have not made
    16        any waiver with regard to any observations or inquiries by
    17        anyone on any other days and you have not made any waiver
    18        in relation to observations and investigations carried out
    19        by other inquiry agents whom you are not proposing to call
    20        in relation to any date at all?
    21
    22   MR. RAMPTON:  That is right.  That is the proposition, my Lord,
    23        and I believe it to be right in law, but that is the
    24        argument to be had in due course.
    25
    26   MS. STEEL:   OK.
    27
    28   MR. RAMPTON:  What follows from that is that we have disclosed
    29        the notes already, some of them for the occasions that we
    30        have relied on.  In consequence of the change to the
    31        defence and the additional statements which the inquiry
    32        agents have now made, we are going to serve some unblanked
    33        out parts, or parts we have already blanked out in the
    34        existing notes, and we have going to serve some additional
    35        notes, because we cannot deploy the evidence of the agents
    36        without waiving privilege in the documents for those
    37        occasions, and the same goes for the photographs.
    38
    39   MS. STEEL:   Actually, I was just about to ask about this.  We
    40        did get a letter from Barlows saying that they were
    41        intending to disclose more notes, and it was just that
    42        Mr. Rampton raised yesterday about could we get our
    43        statements to them a week before their witnesses come in
    44        the witness box and, obviously, anything that is in any new
    45        notes may be something that we want to ask our witnesses
    46        about.  So it is the sooner that is done, the better.
    47
    48   MR. RAMPTON:  The Defendants will get another letter with the
    49        additional notes, copies of the additional notes, tomorrow.
    50          It is as simple as that. 
    51 
    52   MS. STEEL:   Thank you. 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Very well.  I am not going to say anything
    55        more about it because, otherwise, I will find myself saying
    56        something which may indicate that I have reached a
    57        conclusion one way or another and I have not.  I am glad
    58        I understand correctly the extent of what Mr. Rampton says
    59        the waiver is, but whether it goes any further and covers
    60        anything else is up for argument in the future.

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