Day 205 - 17 Jan 96 - Page 53
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If you want to rely on her, then you will
2 call her into the witness box.
3
4 MR. RAMPTON: I am not anyway. My Lord, the only other thing I
5 have to mention is the question of nutrition evidence.
6 I put it like this, in a sense it is a feeble thing to say
7 but in a sense we are in your Lordship's hands. It
8 occurred to us that much of the evidence, most of the
9 evidence, that has already been given by Professor Wheelock
10 and Dr. Arnott is already relevant to the issues raised by
11 the meaning which your Lordship found.
12
13 It did occur to us, however, that it might be desirable
14 (and there is a space in the schedule for it if your
15 Lordship thought it right) to call somebody, not
16 necessarily either of those two but somebody else, as it
17 were, to address directly the separate issues of scientific
18 fact suggested by your Lordship's meaning. I would not
19 want to go about doing that, the time and money that that
20 costs, if your Lordship thought it was a silly idea,
21 I would not want to do it, but if it is something that your
22 Lordship thought would be helpful, and I am bound to say
23 myself I do believe that it would be helpful, because, in a
24 sense, the framework, if not the substance, of the case on
25 nutrition has been altered by the ruling which your
26 Lordship has found. It has certainly made this procedural
27 difference, that we are now dealing in certainties rather
28 than possibilities, so far as the meaning of the words is
29 concerned. Your Lordship might find it of benefit, and
30 I myself believe that it would be of benefit, to have
31 somebody address, some scientist, nutritionist, that
32 meaning directly which, of course, nobody so far has done
33 because the meaning was not in place.
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not think it appropriate for me to enter
36 upon that. If any party wishes to recall one of their
37 witnesses in order to put to them a categoric question
38 based upon the meaning as I have held it to be, I am very
39 willing that they should do so. If any party feels that
40 they would like to call an additional witness, then that
41 witness's potential evidence should be reduced to statement
42 form and an application should be made for leave to call
43 them. I will consider it when that happens, at which time
44 I will know what the contents of the statement are. I am
45 not inviting it, but on either side I will consider any
46 application which is made. I will just wait and see, Mr.
47 Rampton.
48
49 If we can carry on to the close without a break, what I
50 would like to do is see where any party wishes to call
51 witnesses whose statements have been served so I can deal
52 with the question of leave or not to do so.
53
54 Is there any question over Bath witnesses or have I dealt
55 with that already?
56
57 MR. RAMPTON: I told your Lordship the order in which I propose
58 to call them, which was Hendon, Cox and Perrett. The
59 statements have been served.
60
