Day 269 - 25 Jun 96 - Page 94


     
     1        yourself for a long time, and then going into the witness
     2        box as a witness, and as a party, you have a sort of
     3        tripartite personality in the proceedings itself.  If you
     4        said to me: "I do not want to answer that question.  I
     5        would like to talk to my McKenzie friend if you will allow
     6        before I raise my objection,"  then subject to anything Mr.
     7        Rampton says, I would be minded to let you do that; step
     8        out the witness box and you can do it.  I just hope it does
     9        not happen too often, but what I would not be prepared to
    10        do, unless there was some particularly good reason is
    11        say: "Right, I am going break off your evidence now for
    12        half-a-day while you go and obtain some legal advice."
    13
    14   MS. STEEL:  Well that is why we thought it would be a good
    15        idea.  I know you cannot make a decision about each and
    16        every thing that came up but some general kind of
    17        principles or limits or something so that we can get advice
    18        about it before hand so that it will not take up time
    19        during the cross-examination.
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think that is extremely difficult.  If you
    22        want to say -- I think you have got to, if you want to say
    23        on Friday when we next come back here: "We are concerned
    24        that if we are asked this," and you have a particular point
    25        in mind, "as to whether we will have to answer it." Then I
    26        will ask Mr. Rampton if he can help, but what I cannot do
    27        is insist on Mr. Rampton telling me whether he proposes to
    28        ask you questions on that topic in advance and what I
    29        cannot, even more so ask him, is what sort of form of words
    30        he would use.  I cannot ask anyone in advance -- nor would
    31        I want to do so -- whether, if someone who goes into the
    32        witness box, he will be asked about this.
    33
    34   MS. STEEL:  I mean you have set rules and terms of we are not
    35        allowed to ask witnesses about, you know, how much they
    36        earn if they are executives or we were not allowed to ask
    37        Paul Preston about whether he supported the Conservative
    38        Party.  They are just examples.
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  This really strengthens my feeling that I
    41        cannot decide it in advance.  I did not think that until
    42        the issues as I have seen them in the case, knowing whether
    43        a McDonald's executive or one of the McDonald's companies
    44        supported one of the major political parties in this
    45        country, whichever one it was, could possibly help me on
    46        any issue in the case.  Now if, but I did not stop you when
    47        you were asking about Mr. Nicholson bout -- I have
    48        forgotten what the name of it was now, the group.
    49
    50   MS. STEEL:  Economically.
    51
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes, that is right.  Do you see what I
    53        mean?  There is an example as I had to take each one as
    54        they came.
    55
    56   MS. STEEL:  Right, but that would be relevant to the trade union
    57        issue, that part anyway.
    58
    59   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Well yes, indeed it might be, and if you are
    60        asked about some political group which it is suggested you

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