Day 111 - 30 Mar 95 - Page 65
1 testing was being done on the premises?
2
3 MR. RAMPTON: That was.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: To which I can see that the answer might
6 correctly be "no" then an offer to do it on the premises,
7 both sides completely overlooking the question of them
8 being done at Bristol because that is not what the witness
9 is asking about and that is not what Mr. Jarrett is
10 thinking about.
11
12 MR. RAMPTON: Then witness says: "Maybe you would like me do
13 them on the premises" and the answer is: "Well, I will
14 think about that".
15
16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. What do you say about that?
17 A. What did say that?
18
19 Q. No, what do you say about that? Is it possible that you
20 asked a question about whether there were microbiological
21 tests being done in the abattoir, or at the abattoir, or
22 whether there was a laboratory for them at the abattoir to
23 which you got the answer, "no"?
24 A. I do not think that at that stage when I asked
25 them -----
26
27 Q. I will just finish and then you made your suggestion about
28 doing them?
29 A. When I originally asked them about whether TVCs counts
30 were being made, I did not particularly specify whether
31 they were doing done at the premises or in an outside
32 laboratory, I just generally asked whether they were being
33 done.
34
35 MR. RAMPTON: It does not sound to me, I will be quite frank
36 with you, Ms. Hovi, and I would like you to comment on
37 this, that you ever had any solid basis at all for
38 asserting in your statement as you do categorically that
39 Alec Jarrett does not use the services of any outside
40 laboratory? What do you say about that?
41 A. Obviously, at the time of writing this statement,
42 I thought so. I had no reason to suspect what they had
43 told me and I based my assumption on what they had told me.
44
45 Q. Were you quite upset at the way in which, according to your
46 evidence, you were dismissed?
47 A. I was initially very, very surprised because, as I said
48 earlier, there had been a very co-operative meeting between
49 me and Mr. Stewart and Bob Jarrett just the day before
50 concerning the carcass temperatures. We had come to a
51 conclusion that we would have to give it time and we had
52 suggested some solutions to the problem. I had made a
53 concession saying that I would definitely be prepared to
54 monitor the situation for them the following two weeks
55 without taking any action, i.e. stopping trucks from being
56 loaded, which would have been a justified action at that at
57 the situation.
58
59 As far as the BSE certification was concerned, I did not
60 think that a person can be dismissed on the basis of
