Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 58


     
     1
     2        My Lord, the proposition that there should be some kind of
     3        adjournment while the Lord Chancellor considers that
     4        matter, we would certainly resist.  I believe it to be your
     5        Lordship's view that though it may be that a daily
     6        transcript is marginally a more useful tool than a pen and
     7        a piece of paper, there is absolutely no reason why the
     8        Defendants should not go on taking notes for as long as
     9        must be, given that, as I have said repeatedly, it is
    10        within their own power to cure that situation.  The same
    11        goes for any application that they may feel impelled to
    12        make to the Court of Appeal.  Of course, if they need time
    13        to appear in the Court of Appeal whether to ask for leave
    14        or a subsequent appeal, no doubt your Lordship will set
    15        aside time for that.  Beyond that there is no need for this
    16        case to stop.  It should go on and it should finish, we
    17        believe, as soon as humanly possible can.
    18
    19        If the absence of transcripts for the Defendants means that
    20        the case goes on a bit longer and, therefore, it costs us a
    21        bit more, well, that is something we are willing to live
    22        with so long as the Defendants refuse to give the
    23        undertaking for which we have asked.
    24
    25        If your Lordship is not going to call on the Defendants
    26        now ----
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think I will leave it to them.  I will ask
    29        them how long they are likely to be and give them the
    30        option to reply in the morning if they want to rather than
    31        this evening.
    32
    33   MR. RAMPTON:  I was going to ask what I should do about the
    34        evidence for Wednesday?
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What I have in mind is that when argument on
    37        this is complete we should go on to argument on the other
    38        interlocutory matters.  It did not seem to inhibit anyone,
    39        as far as I recall, when we were having argument about
    40        interlocutory matters before that there was not an
    41        available transcript of the argument.
    42
    43   MR. RAMPTON:  It is only a question of Mrs. Farrer who was
    44        supposed to be coming tomorrow.  Shall I put her off?
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If that is a proper assessment of the
    47        situation, I do not think you should have a witness here
    48        tomorrow.
    49
    50   MR. RAMPTON:  I will put her off until Thursday. 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  See how we go tomorrow on the other 
    53        interlocutory matters.
    54
    55   MR. RAMPTON:  There may be a difficulty about Thursday but
    56        I will try to resolve it.
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  All I will say for the time being is that no
    59        witness need attend in anticipation of giving evidence
    60        tomorrow.

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