Day 167 - 02 Oct 95 - Page 35


     
     1
     2   MR. RAMPTON:  Certainly we do not have that.  Mr. Richards
     3        remembers something about it and can tell your Lordship
     4        what he remembers of it.
     5
     6        So far as clock-cards are concerned, that is M. Logan
     7        himself on that page.  Again Mr. Richards will give
     8        evidence about that.  I will not anticipate it, but your
     9        Lordship may think when you have heard that evidence there
    10        is no need for any discovery in that area.
    11
    12   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You see, if I think aloud for a moment:  If
    13        sufficient detail is actually given (and it may not have to
    14        be very much detail, I do not know) with the result that
    15        Mr. Richards when he got into the witness box, if he was
    16        asked about it, would say:  "Oh, yes, we should have some
    17        documentation which can fairly easily be got on that", then
    18        I might welcome it, especially if I am going to be faced
    19        with a conflict, if I am, between Mr. Logan who, for all
    20        I know, might appear in the witness box to be a perfectly
    21        decent and honest chap, and Mr. Richards who in the witness
    22        box may appear to be a perfectly honest and decent chap.
    23        If there some documentation which is not too difficult to
    24        get hold off which will point the balance of probabilities
    25        distinctly one way or the other, then obviously I would
    26        welcome that.
    27
    28        There may be one of these witnesses where Mr. Richards
    29        would say:  "I remember X and I think we might still have
    30        something which will help on that".  There may be others
    31        where he will say:  "Well, I remember so and so; he or she
    32        left two years ago and I do not think there is any prospect
    33        of having that".  I just do not know.
    34
    35        One course to follow might be to have Mr. Richards called
    36        to take whatever course you or Mr. Atkinson chooses to do
    37        with the substance of his evidence, no doubt, as forecast
    38        in his statement, and then pursue matters like that as
    39        supplementals both as to information or possible
    40        documentation, and then sit back, pause there and see where
    41        we have got to so far as any possible further discovery is
    42        concerned.  I do not know whether that appeals or not?
    43
    44   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, yes, but can I insert another layer into
    45        that sandwich which is this, that is how we had envisaged
    46        it would go.  If and insofar as we can lay hands on any
    47        documents which your Lordship thought relevant and
    48        necessary (and it certainly would not, we do not believe,
    49        go beyond a few documents in this particular case), what
    50        I had in mind was that rather than lose yet more time (and 
    51        I will not say any more on that at the moment), the 
    52        Defendants should proceed this afternoon when we have got 
    53        beyond that with any additional questions they want to ask
    54        about documents, but with a cross-examination quite
    55        independent of any documents which they must already have
    56        prepared.  Then we would produce the documents as soon as
    57        physically possible with a view to Mr. Richards'
    58        cross-examination continuing tomorrow with, one would hope,
    59        the documents in court.
    60

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