Day 001 - 28 Jun 94 - Page 57
1
MR. MORRIS: Could we have the sound this time?
2
MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I advance that not as evidence of the
3 truth of anything that is said in it at all, but as
evidence of, as said in one of the old cases, how far the
4 defendants' poison has reached.
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Thank you, Mr. Rampton.
6 MR. RAMPTON: It was made sometime earlier this year.
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The next stage is that you have an
opportunity to open your cases to me. You can start this
8 evening if you want, though we will probably only go on
for about a quarter of an hour, or you can put it over
9 until the morning.
10 MR. MORRIS: We have some outstanding matters about the
delivery of transcripts to us.
11
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can we deal with first things first. Do you
12 want to start your openings in the morning?
13 MISS STEEL: Yes.
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can I say one thing about that because it
will affect cross-examination as well. You are separate
15 defendants in the action, so since we have agreed that you
can open the matter, you can each open your case. When it
16 comes to cross-examining, you can each cross-examine. The
normal order would be that you, Miss Steel, would go first
17 because you happen to be the first of the two remaining
defendants, then Mr. Morris would go next. There would be
18 no objection from me, and I doubt there will be any
objection from Mr. Rampton, if you changed the order.
19 I do not suppose if one of you starts and then the other
asks some questions and the first one then does some
20 tidying up, there will be any objection to that. What it
would be helpful to do obviously, whether in opening or
21 cross-examination, would be to avoid unnecessary
duplication. I know you will bear that in mind.
22
Do you know how long your openings together, or your joint
23 opening if that is what it is to be, will take tomorrow?
24 MR. MORRIS: We think about one day it should be completed.
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. Now, what about the transcripts?
26 MR. MORRIS: Yes. Yesterday Mr. Rampton said that we will get
-- you remember there was a discussion on yesterday when
27 the transcripts would arrive to the defendants of the
day's proceedings. Mr. Rampton said they would be sent to
28 us by courier as soon as humanly possible. You may recall
that. Well, we were informed last night or was it this
29 morning -- I think I might have got a fax last night very
late saying that the plaintiffs do not wish to send us the
30 transcripts, but that we would have to collect them from
their offices at our leisure sometime in the evening when
