Day 079 - 27 Jan 95 - Page 69


     
     1   MR. MORRIS:  If I am going to be pushed, then I would say that
     2        I feel in this case a number of McDonald's witnesses have
     3        lied and said half truths, omissions, and all that kind of
     4        stuff, but I do not know what the correct procedure is to
     5        deal with it when you come to it.  Basically, I am trying
     6        to get at the truth and that is what I am giving every
     7        witness an opportunity to do.  That is why we are asking
     8        detailed questions to find out what the truth is.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think you should put it to a witness.  If
    11        you are going to suggest to me at the end of the day that
    12        someone was just not telling the truth about that, in any
    13        particular aspect, as opposed to saying that the evidence
    14        is unreliable, in a case which is decided on balance of
    15        probabilities, just what is more probably right, you should
    16        put it to the witness that they are actually being
    17        dishonest about that, because -----
    18
    19   MR. MORRIS (To the witness):  I will put it to you then just to
    20        get the record straight:  Are you being dishonest about the
    21        number of tests that are made of finished products?
    22        A.  No.
    23
    24   Q.   Shall we continue with our cross-examination?
    25
    26   THE WITNESS:  Can I answer more to that, my Lord?
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    29        A.  In the context of making one 1.6 million burgers a day,
    30        if you were in our laboratories and you saw the waste bins
    31        of the amount of burgers that are destroyed through routine
    32        testing, it is incredible.  I still say you called me a
    33        liar, and on Monday I am going to have an extra check
    34        done.  I an going to instruct the laboratory to count every
    35        burger that is destroyed during the course of an eight hour
    36        production because it is a number I do not know.
    37
    38   MR. MORRIS:  I mean, there have been examples which we have
    39        shown of lies by the Plaintiffs in letters and legal
    40        letters.
    41
    42   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Look, you are questioning Mr. Walker.
    43
    44   MR. MORRIS:  I understand that.  I think that is possibly why
    45        I feel that there is an area of untruths lurking.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not asking you to justify it now.  I am
    48        asking you to make it clear whether you are actually
    49        accusing this witness of lying.  If we have the same hassle
    50        over another witness, we will deal with that. 
    51 
    52   MR. MORRIS:  I cannot think straight at all now. 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I need to know because I think about the case
    55        as it goes on, and I want to know what you are really
    56        saying about Mr. Walker.
    57
    58   MS. STEEL:  It was not me who said it anyway, but, I mean,
    59        I think that really the position is that we feel that
    60        either Mr. Walker is lying or he is mistaken.  But,

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