Day 161 - 24 Jul 95 - Page 20
1 A. Yes, sir, I would be worried.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I think Miss Anteneh should do is write
4 down on a piece of paper the identity of the store, so that
5 you can see it, Mr. Morris can see it, and Mr. Rampton. Do
6 you know it already, Mr. Rampton?
7
8 MR. RAMPTON: Yes, I do, my Lord.
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I can see it as well. Just listen to me,
11 because I have not finished yet. If, in the course of the
12 evidence -- I think you should then go along with your
13 cross-examination absolutely as far as you can, and if, at
14 the end of the day, you still want to argue that it is
15 necessary for it to come out in open court as opposed to
16 being written down, so that you know of it, then I will
17 reconsider the matter.
18
19 I should say that this is a situation which arises in one
20 guise or another very frequently, and this is very often
21 the course which is taken in the first instance and, in
22 fact, adhered to throughout.
23
24 MS. STEEL: I was going to say, we will agree to this course,
25 although we do, in principle, object on the grounds that it
26 is really nothing to do with us, this incident; and also on
27 the grounds that it is not a personal address, so it is not
28 the same as a home address or something like that; it is a
29 business premises.
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In my view at the moment, there is no
32 difference in principle between a working address and a
33 home address in the situation which I have read -- and, for
34 the moment, I am accepting to be accurate, unless you
35 challenge it, in paragraph 2. So what I suggest is that it
36 be written. Is that a completely clean sheet of paper?
37
38 (To the witness) Just write down the address of the
39 restaurant inside the fold, please, Miss Anteneh. (Pause)
40 Then just sign it and date it, please.
41
42 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I have just been given some information
43 which I did not know before. In the light of the
44 information I have been given, I would ask that the
45 Defendants keep the identity of the store (unless
46 your Lordship should rule that it needs to be mentioned in
47 open court) to themselves, that it should be confidential,
48 because it is in an area which has particular groups of
49 people within it -- I will not say any more than that --
50 which I can well understand would make Miss Anteneh
51 extremely nervous if the name should be broadcast.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I think you should do is keep it to
54 yourselves, save for the purpose of any enquiry you need to
55 pursue for the conduct of the suit; and, even then, there
56 probably should be no reason to give any kind of
57 explanation. You should be as guarded as is sensible and
58 not give any reason for being guarded, because, in
59 situations like this, this sometimes creates its own
60 problems. I do not want to make too much of it.
