Day 289 - 29 Oct 96 - Page 40


     
     1   MS. STEEL:   Mr. Morris.
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:   It depends which one I am ready to do, really.
     4
     5   MR JUSTICE BELL:  I think you ought to pick your target,
     6        whichever one it is.  What I would like to do is, do your
     7        best to finish rearing and slaughter, but I would like
     8        Mr. Morris to be ready to go on to the next topic either
     9        without a break or with a minimum break after you have
    10        finished.  I make one point:  I know you both set great
    11        stock by being both here at the same time.  I do not know
    12        whether that was necessary when the witnesses were actually
    13        giving evidence, and I certainly do not think it is
    14        necessary, if you trusted one or other of you to deal with
    15        a particular topic.
    16
    17   MS. STEEL:   The thing is that we have not had a chance to
    18        discuss any of what either of us is saying in court, so
    19        both of us feel that we do want to be here.
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is entirely up to you.  But it is not a
    22        view which I would share.  I would have thought -- and
    23        I think this is a particularly good example -- I would have
    24        thought that if there was any area where you are competent
    25        to get on with it without any help from Mr. Morris, it is
    26        rearing and slaughter.  If there is any area, for instance,
    27        where he is competent to get on with it without, really,
    28        any help from you which is going to make any difference, it
    29        is employment.  There may well be other areas where you can
    30        divide it up.  You are entitled to go your own way, in the
    31        sense of saying, "We both want to be here for particular
    32        things", or, "We both want to listen rather than get on,
    33        sitting in the back of the court somewhere, and doing
    34        preparation work, or even outside doing preparation work",
    35        but it is not a view I share that it is absolutely
    36        necessary.
    37
    38   MS. STEEL:   I think the thing is that because we are both
    39        separate parties in this case, we do feel it is important
    40        that we are both here to represent our own interests, which
    41        are not always -- we are not always in hundred percent
    42        agreement over everything.  Throughout the course of the
    43        day, legal arguments do come up about, for example, meaning
    44        and comment, and things like that; and if we are not here,
    45        we have to read the transcript at some point, which is
    46        three weeks later at least; and, basically, it means we are
    47        not really up on, you know, what has been going on in court
    48        and what has been said, and that can only mean that, at the
    49        end of the day, we may miss things out which were important
    50        to raise. 
    51 
    52   MR JUSTICE BELL:  I think that is highly unlikely.  If a point 
    53        of principle arises, it can be marked and I can flag my
    54        notebook and we can come back to it, and I can summarise
    55        what the nature of the argument was.  Anyway, as I have
    56        said more than once -- I do not want to keep harping on
    57        about it -- you know how long you have got; you have to
    58        organise yourselves so that you get through the main points
    59        within the time which is available.  If you do get out
    60        notes of Miss Druce overnight, obviously that will be

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