Day 260 - 11 Jun 96 - Page 39
1 MR. HALL: Yes, that is right.
2
3 MR. RAMPTON: That is right. That is what I meant.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What it occurs to me, then -- it may lead to
6 a certain patchiness, it may not -- but if we can carry on
7 with the evidence of Mr. Bishop; if and when we finish
8 Mr. Bishop's evidence, subject to any further disclosure,
9 subject to the completion of Mr. Bishop's evidence, subject
10 to any party asking for him to come back to the witness
11 box, if there is any further discovery, I would like to go
12 on with Mr. Pocklington; and the same applies to him. If
13 it ends up with some patchy procedure, that seems better to
14 me than having a larger break.
15
16 MR. RAMPTON: I heartily agree with that.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Obviously, I would like to take advantage of
19 Mr. Hall's help, and, since that is the way I see it, it
20 should be heard, provided it does not prejudice you (which
21 it does not) at a time which is convenient to him.
22
23 MR. RAMPTON: No, it does not prejudice me at all.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: So, I will hear argument on that, subject to
26 anything happening in the meantime, on Thursday. It is
27 obviously entirely a matter for Mr. Hall whether and how
28 long he stays.
29
30 MR. HALL: Thank you, my Lord.
31
32 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, there are two other things I ought to
33 raise. The first is, it looks to me, since we have only
34 got in the chronology of 1992, 14th June 1996, that I could
35 ask your Lordship to release Mr. Pocklington for today.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. That is sensible, is it, Ms. Steel and
38 Mr. Morris?
39
40 MS. STEEL: Probably, yes.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If we finish Mr. Bishop, we will have a
43 slightly earlier day.
44
45 MR. RAMPTON: Then there is a knock-on the question about --
46 I have faithfully followed your Lordship's direction, which
47 is to have my witnesses stacked up so far as I could, and
48 I have done for the inquiry agents in pairs; and I ask the
49 question whether I need to have Mr. Clare here tomorrow.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I would suggest not, but if he can be
52 somewhere near a phone just before midday, in case anything
53 happens and he has to be called.
54
55 MR. RAMPTON: I am grateful. There is one other thing I do need
56 to mention, because -- I would not normally mention a
57 matter of this kind, but since it has caused a considerable
58 degree of disquiet for the people concerned, I am bound to
59 mention it, since it may in fact constitute a contempt of
60 court. I am instructed -- I was not there -- that as my
