Day 257 - 06 Jun 96 - Page 54


     
     1        What is your best estimate for Mr. Fairgrieve?
     2
     3   MS. STEEL:   There is actually a fair bit to go.
     4
     5   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Shall we say Mr. Nicholson not before two
     6        o'clock?
     7
     8   MS. STEEL:  I think so.  Definitely, yes.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What I suggest is that maybe
    11        Mrs. Brinley-Codd may ring Mr. Nicholson anyway, but if we
    12        can have half a day of Mr. Nicholson tomorrow afternoon,
    13        well and good.  It is becoming clearer and clearer to me,
    14        although either side may dissuade me from it, that I can
    15        only look at the figures which Mr. Fairgrieve gives in a
    16        very approximate way as a broad indication of this or
    17        that.  That may be good enough for your purposes, in so far
    18        as you want to say, for instance, there are a significant
    19        number of people who eat quite frequently at McDonald's, or
    20        something of that kind.  But it is only sort of broad
    21        conclusions of that kind, it seems to me, that
    22        Mr. Fairgrieve's figures are going to help me too.  I am
    23        not saying I have come to that conclusion, but it will be
    24        that sort of broad conclusion, if I can draw any conclusion
    25        at all.
    26
    27        So, if that is your view also at this stage, then I suggest
    28        you bear it in mind as you continue your
    29        cross-examination.  You have your own survey anyway which
    30        Mr. Rampton does not require you to call a witness to
    31        prove, unless you have a particular reason for doing so.
    32
    33   MS. STEEL:   Yes.  I mean, I think -- I do not know -- but
    34        I know if we had the raw data the whole thing would have
    35        been about 50 times quicker.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not know.  It might have helped or it
    38        might have made the matter far more complex than was
    39        necessary, if one can only draw a broad conclusion.
    40
    41   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.  I want to make my position absolutely
    42        clear.  The question of discovery of the raw data is
    43        actually not an easy one, I do not believe.  I do not know
    44        enough yet and I want to ask Mr. Fairgrieve some questions
    45        about it before your Lordship decided that question, if the
    46        question should be asked.
    47
    48        I am quite happy to concede that whichever way you look at
    49        it there is a number of people, whether it is a large
    50        number or a small number, it is a significant number of 
    51        people -- what "significant" means in the context, of 
    52        course, depends on one's point of view -- that eats 
    53        McDonald's food once a week or more.  Proportionately, of
    54        course, it is a tiny number of people, but that may not be
    55        the question.  As I say, it depends on how you look at it.
    56        The exact numbers seem to me to be really totally
    57        irrelevant, which is one of the reasons that I will
    58        certainly not willingly agree to make any further
    59        discovery.
    60

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