Day 114 - 04 Apr 95 - Page 68
1
2 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He can do that. This is going a step
3 further. Whatever Mr. Rampton's motive is, what I am
4 putting to you is an opportunity for Dr. Long which he has
5 not had, he need not take it if he does not want to because
6 he is not a party to the action, but it actually gives him
7 an opportunity to check through and actually see whether
8 there are some things which he would disagree with in
9 Dr. Gregory's evidence which, as it happens, he has not yet
10 spoken to.
11
12 MR. MORRIS: We are happy with that, yes.
13
14 MS. STEEL: As long as ----
15
16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If in however many months time it is said to
17 me that Dr. Long had the opportunity to read the transcript
18 and he did not disagree with Dr. Gregory on that, the
19 result of that may be that I do not have any evidence from
20 Dr. Long challenging Dr. Gregory. What I am saying is my
21 inference will not be: "Therefore, he agreed", because it
22 may just be that he may have missed it. That is all.
23
24 MS. STEEL: I think with that clarification we will accept this
25 is going ahead.
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is what I said at the beginning to
28 Mr. Rampton, which was my only reservation about it.
29
30 MS. STEEL: I do have specific concern that I want to raise now
31 about these documents from the Meat and Livestock
32 Commission, because we cross-examined Mr. Bowes about this,
33 and it was clear that he did not actually have anything to
34 do with the preparation of those documents. I therefore
35 stopped cross-examining him about it and was going to put
36 it in argument that he was in no position to contradict
37 Dr. Gregory because he had nothing to do with the actual
38 testing. So I am very unhappy that Mr. Rampton is trying
39 to assert there was some evidence to the contrary.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There is no way I could stop Mr. Rampton
42 saying, "If this figure were such, if that figure were
43 such" and so on, then asking Dr. Long what the conclusion
44 is. The only question is whether he should for quickness
45 of reference and so that they are not just figures spoken
46 by Mr. Rampton, Dr. Long can see them written down in front
47 of him and be able to refer to the document. That is all.
48 At the end of the day you still have your argument,
49 "Whatever he said, his view was if those were the figures
50 there is actually no admissible evidence that those were
51 the figures".
52
53 You have not abandoned that argument, as it were, by not
54 objecting to Mr. Rampton putting the figures on a piece of
55 paper in front of him. He could go away, if you like, and
56 write them all out again on a bit of A4 in long hand and
57 say, "If those were the figures, what would you make of
58 it?" It just seems to me that if Mr. Rampton could do
59 that, he might just as well be able to refer to the
60 document. By allowing him to do that, I am not saying that
