Day 259 - 10 Jun 96 - Page 40
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2 MR. MORRIS: So Mr. Mills did not talk about that with you?
3 A. Certainly not. I would have thought it was
4 unprofessional to discuss any other detail with me other
5 than McDonald's business.
6
7 Q. It would be unprofessional for him to discuss what with
8 you?
9 A. Other companies' business with me.
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11 Q. I did not talk about individual companies. I am talking
12 about the nature of his job.
13 A. No. It was not that sort of relationship. He came in
14 to do a job, he did it, and went off.
15
16 Q. You have said that he said, or you claim he said, that he
17 found that everything was in order. Are those the words he
18 used?
19 A. I do not remember the exact words, but it would have
20 been something like that, because he was very
21 down-to-earth, he was very easy to get on with, and he did
22 not have any problem with my department. He was very
23 impressed with my department. It was very busy, and he
24 thought it was managed very well.
25
26 Q. So, you do not remember the exact words he used, but you
27 got the impression that he was happy with the situation?
28 A. I did not get the impression. I know he was very
29 happy.
30
31 Q. Did he walk round with a smile on his face, or what?
32 A. I do not think that is really relevant, is it?
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34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, Mr. Morris. Come on. Ask about a
35 particular matter.
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37 MR. MORRIS: I feel quite angry about this.
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39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It does not surprise me one bit that a wages
40 inspector should come in with a query, be given an hour or
41 two to check things, have staff there to answer queries if
42 necessary, and then, at the end of the day, just say, "All
43 right, it seems OK", and leave, or something like that.
44
45 MR. MORRIS: Is that not very unprofessional, for a wages
46 inspector to, off the cuff, say that he thinks everything
47 is in order, without putting it in writing?
48 A. He always followed his visits up with a report to my
49 immediate superior.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I just do not understand this. VAT
52 inspectors come in and do exactly that.
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54 MR. MORRIS: She just said that he always followed it up with a
55 report in writing to her superiors.
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57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Even if everything is all right, he did?
58 A. It was just a cursory: "Thank you for my visit on such
59 and such a date at which I found everything to be as it
60 should be and in accordance with the Wages Council."
