Day 146 - 03 Jul 95 - Page 24
1 which is nearly four months ago. Food safety has long gone
2 from this case. This is hearsay upon hearsay. It is
3 incomplete. I cannot and will not deal with it unless your
4 Lordship asks me to.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You say it is just not an admissible ---
7
8 MR. RAMPTON: It is not admissible anyway.
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- document. If that is right ----
11
12 MR. RAMPTON: It is like so much of Mr. Morris' material; this
13 is an account of an account of something which, at some
14 time, a newspaper reporter might or might not have learned.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: Yes. Can I -- no, I will not respond.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Leave it for the moment.
19
20 MR. RAMPTON: There is nobody left on the Plaintiffs' side --
21 and I am certainly not going to call anybody to deal with
22 it -- who can be cross-examined about it.
23
24 MR. MORRIS: We will not have to if we plead it and if it turns
25 out to be true.
26
27 MR. RAMPTON: So, my Lord, for present purposes, whether it was
28 an amended pleading put forward and after argument allowed,
29 because I would oppose that too at this stage of the case,
30 is in the future. All I say about this document is that
31 everybody should forget about it for the time being. It is
32 inadmissible and it is too late.
33
34 My Lord, then a question raised by Mr. Morris the other day
35 which I promised I would come back to. Since we are in
36 chambers, and since I have been relatively quick today,
37 I thought I would mention it. Does your Lordship recall
38 that Mr. Morris cross-examined Mr. Stein on a peculiar
39 passage from some inadmissible document?
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The McDoctor's thing.
42
43 MR. RAMPTON: McDonaldisation of society about McSo-and-So;
44 McThis, McThat; McDentists, McDoctors, McBarristers and
45 McJudges, no doubt. He was not willing to reveal what the
46 purpose of his cross-examination was and did not press it
47 very far when I objected. But if, as I believe, Mr. Morris
48 is under any impression that that might be useful material
49 when it comes to interpretation of the leaflet complained
50 of in this case, that is a false view of the law and we
51 ought not to waste any more time on McThis and McThat.
52
53 The reason I say that -- I know it is well known to your
54 Lordship -- is because it has been the law of this country
55 for certainly a lot longer than I have been in practice,
56 for certainly over 100 years or more, that where the
57 meaning of the words complained of is alleged to be a
58 natural and ordinary meaning and not a true or legal
59 innuendo, neither side is permitted to adduce evidence to
60 explain the meaning of the libel.
