Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 09
1 sabotage the Defendants' preparations of cross-examination
2 and evaluation of the evidence.
3
4 One further result is that, at present, you have said that
5 you would feel uncomfortable having any facility which is
6 not available to the Defendants which, effectively, means
7 that only McDonald's have a transcript of what is being
8 heard in open court in a public trial.
9
10 To go into it in a little bit more depth, and we will come
11 to the authorities which, we hope, will demonstrate that
12 you have discretion, but we have to convince you that you
13 ought to exercise it in our favour. The trial is being
14 held in open court, and the press and the public are
15 entitled to attend and report on the case. The evidence is
16 not secret.
17
18 McDonald's, on 4th July, said that a condition for us to
19 receive the transcripts from them -- and we make it clear
20 we are quite prepared to copy a transcript given to us
21 ourselves and return the copy so it will not cost them one
22 pence if they should not be able to afford such a high
23 amount -- that we would have to sign an undertaking not to
24 copy any section of any transcript or read out over the
25 phone to Defence witnesses, legal advisers, journalists or
26 campaigners, any part of any transcript. We believe this
27 undertaking -- we will come to the authority on this -- is
28 seeking that undertaking.
29
30 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I must intervene. That has been
31 overtaken by the letter dated 17th July where the precise
32 terms of the undertaking and conditions are set out in
33 detail.
34
35 MS. STEEL: Can we just clarify: Is Mr. Rampton saying he has
36 changed his case from last week?
37
38 MR. RAMPTON: I do not change my case. I set out in detail in
39 that letter all the conditions which would, on the one
40 hand, prevent the Defendants from misusing the transcripts
41 and would, on the other hand, allow them every facility to
42 conduct their case by reference to the transcripts.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have to work today, if you choose to deal
45 with it at all, on the basis of the up-to-date position
46 which is as set out in the letter of 17th July.
47
48 MR. MORRIS: McDonald's have suddenly changed their position
49 because we believed that the undertaking they sought then
50 was taking complete advantage of us being unrepresented
51 Defendants, to try and get us to sign away our basic
52 rights, which is to -----
53
54 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, Mr. Morris is once again (as I feared he
55 would) making use of an occasion in open court to make
56 political speeches which have no bearing on the present
57 application, which is a question of law for your Lordship.
58 The only matter which may bear upon that is what we have
59 put in our latest letter.
60
