Day 095 - 02 Mar 95 - Page 68
1 certain urgent matters?
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What are the urgent matters you want to
4 raise?
5
6 MR. MORRIS: We are very concerned about establishing what the
7 Easter break is going to be as soon as possible, so we can
8 make arrangements for holidays or whatever and obviously
9 the amendments. We are finalising our witness schedule. I
10 do not know if it will be finalised.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think we should decide the Easter break in
13 the reasonable future, but I really think you have to have
14 your witness schedule out before we can talk sensibly about
15 that.
16
17 MR. MORRIS: I have got something which is virtually complete
18 for that.
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I must say, my inclination is that -- how
21 long is your remaining cross-examination of Mr. Bowes going
22 to take?
23
24 MR. MORRIS: We do not know.
25
26 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, can I make a suggestion? I hope it is
27 helpful. I am very unwilling that Mr. Bowes should not be
28 finished. If he is not and he starts at 10.30, he is not
29 finished, well, he is not finished. But I think it is
30 quite wrong, if I may respectfully say so, to risk his not
31 finishing simply because Mr. Morris wants to talk about
32 administrative matters.
33
34 It is much better, in my submission, if I make it, that we
35 start with Mr. Bowes -- I did not put him off and I am glad
36 I did not start -- 10.30 and see how we get on. If there
37 is time at the end of the day because he is finished, then
38 we can attend to some administration matters. If there is
39 an urgency about the administrative matters, then I could
40 ask Mr. Chambers (who is due on Monday) not to be ready to
41 give evidence until 2 o'clock. I do not think an hour's
42 work to deal with the proposed amendment to start with;
43 I have considerable amount to say about that as, I have no
44 doubt, Mr. Morris and Ms. Steel will too.
45
46 I would much rather, if it has to be done now, then it is
47 better, in my respectful submission, to do it after
48 Mr. Bowes has finished his evidence.
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I think we should do, I know,
51 Mr. Morris, you have a family difficulty about starting
52 before 10.30, so I have not raised the question of sitting
53 at 10 o'clock which we could perfectly well do virtually
54 every day if it was not for that problem. Is there any
55 possibility of starting a bit early tomorrow?
56
57 I think we should get on with Mr. Bowes in an attempt to
58 finish him. I think we could talk about scheduling on
59 Monday morning. I think, to more profit, if you can come
60 on Monday morning, if not before, with a schedule written
