Day 312 - 11 Dec 96 - Page 03


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
     3
     4   MR. RAMPTON:  The next person, my Lord, is Mr. Bishop.
     5        Your Lordship asked whether there was anybody apart from
     6        Mr. Russell who existed in the form of a report.  All Mr.
     7        Bishop's notes are typed or handwritten and they are all
     8        signed and dated by him except one.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is the first one, 17th November?
    11
    12   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes, that is right.  What happened was -----
    13
    14   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Neither Ms. Steel nor Mr. Morris were at the
    15        meeting.
    16
    17   MR. RAMPTON:  That is right.  It is not important either.  It
    18        just gives an overall impression.  I am quite happy if
    19        your Lordship disregards that one.
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You did not have a Section 64 notice in
    22        respect of that?
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:  No, I did not.  For 2nd August, which was one of
    25        the important meetings that Mr. Bishop attended, they were
    26        not original notes.  They were found while he was in the
    27        witness box, as your Lordship will have noticed, and he
    28        signed both the relevant pages of that.
    29
    30        My Lord, the next question is Mr. Morris' witness
    31        statement.  Mr. Atkinson and I are satisfied, that sounds
    32        pompous, but we are sure your Lordship is right.  We could
    33        only get it in, I think, under the Civil Evidence Act, that
    34        is sub-rules 6 and 9 of Order 38.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Could you give me the order in full again?
    37
    38   MR. RAMPTON:  Order 38, Rule 2A, sub-rules 6 and 9. I do not
    39        make that application.  The reason for that is this.  First
    40        of all, which I am afraid I had forgotten last week, on
    41        page 17 of the agency notes Mr. Pocklington's handwritten
    42        report of the meeting at 6 Endsleigh Street on 26th October
    43        1989, reports both Mr. Morris' part in that meeting which
    44        was, apparently, a vociferous part, and also a statement
    45        made by Mr. Morris to Mr. Pocklington to the effect that
    46        he, Mr. Morris, had been involved on and off with the group
    47        for about 10 years.
    48
    49        That is number one.  Then the evidence of Mr. Gravett,
    50        apart from the Elder Statesman reference which is on
    51        page 33 of day 272 at line 9, there is a passage on page 25
    52        of the same date at lines 18 to 49 where Mr. Gravett gives
    53        the reasons why he chose Mr. Morris to make the speeches,
    54        as it were, at that meeting on that day, the important
    55        feature of which is that it is clear from what Mr. Gravett
    56        is saying that Mr. Morris was already a member by the time
    57        Mr. Gravett joined the group.
    58
    59        My Lord, that is all I have to say on the subject of
    60        publication.  My Lord, on the subject of malice and, more

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