Day 261 - 12 Jun 96 - Page 55
1 look at the notes. If you ask him a question and he gives
2 an answer now, looking back six or seven years, which
3 contradicts his note, I am bound to prefer his note as
4 being more reliable than his recollection now. That is
5 just common sense. So, if one wants to find out who were
6 regular attenders, we just have to do an analysis, not with
7 Mr. Pocklington, but an analysis in due course of who
8 appears in these notes and when.
9
10 MR. MORRIS: Right. The reason I am asking the question is
11 precisely to test the memory of the witness, because
12 I think it needs to be tested.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He has been pretty open about it. Even if he
15 did say he remembered everything which had happened,
16 I could scarcely believe him, after six or seven years.
17 But he has not said that.
18
19 I mean, if there is something important which you think he
20 has got wrong in his recollection, put it to him. But
21 I cannot abandon in one cross-examination 33 years of
22 listening to witnesses day in and day out and forming my
23 own judgment on how reliable they are without the benefit
24 of the note, when they are looking back six or seven years.
25
26 MR. MORRIS: You attended a minimum 26 events, nearly all
27 meetings, and nearly all working meetings at the
28 Caledonian Road office; yes?
29 A. What are working meetings?
30
31 Q. The business meetings or the administration meetings,
32 decision-making meetings or whatever.
33 A. Yes, meetings. I do not know how much work was done at
34 each meeting; but certainly meetings, yes.
35
36 Q. You cannot remember how many meetings I attended or even
37 approximately how many meetings I attended?
38 A. I cannot, no.
39
40 Q. Were they public meetings that I attended or the
41 Caledonian Road meetings; do you remember?
42 A. I recall seeing you in both places, in Endsleigh Street
43 and in Caledonian Road.
44
45 Q. According to your notes, while you were in the group,
46 I attended four meetings that you went to, of which two
47 were public meetings. So, in fact, I only attended two
48 meetings at the actual office of the group. You would
49 accept that, would you?
50 A. If that is written down in my notes, then I would
51 accept that, yes.
52
53 Q. Do you remember when I first might have attended a meeting
54 at the office of the group?
55 A. I do not remember when.
56
57 Q. Do you remember at all?
58 A. No, I do not remember at all.
59
60 Q. Was it early on in your -----
