Day 107 - 24 Mar 95 - Page 46


     
     1        A.  If you identify it, sir, I will get it.
     2
     3   Q.   I do not know what it is called, Mr. North, mine is called
     4        "North Documents".  It should have a white label with your
     5        name on it?
     6        A.  You want me to refer to The Scientist -----
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Wait until Mr. Rampton refers you to it
     9        specifically.
    10
    11   MR. RAMPTON:  My numbers are tabbed, it is tab 6, please,
    12        Mr. North.  This may be the other Richard North, I do not
    13        know?
    14        A.  No, it is me, sir.
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He calls himself "Richard D. North"?
    17        A.  Only recently, after we discussed it and the confusion
    18        which arose.
    19
    20   MR. RAMPTON:  You threatened to sue him or something, did you?
    21        A.  Not exactly, no!
    22
    23   Q.   Will you turn to the second sheet of this article, please?
    24        It is an article by you published in the New Scientist on
    25        29th July 1976.
    26        A.  Yes.
    27
    28   Q.   Of course, please make all due allowance for the passage of
    29        time and the development of science in the intervening
    30        period which is nearly 20 years.  Please look at the second
    31        column on page 232 -- the page number will you find in the
    32        top left-hand corner -- and at the bottom of the second
    33        complete paragraph in that right-hand column?
    34        A.  Yes.
    35
    36   Q.   And at the penultimate sentence and the last sentence, the
    37        last two sentences where you have written:  "Moreover,
    38        these unsound birds are rarely, if ever, harmful to human
    39        health".  Here we are talking about salmonellosis?
    40        A.  Yes.
    41
    42   Q.   "Salmonellosis is the only poultry disease known to be
    43        harmful to man and the number of human cases attributable
    44        to infection via poultry is very small".  Do you see those
    45        words?
    46        A.  Yes, indeed.
    47
    48   Q.   Do you wish to qualify them in the light of your current
    49        knowledge?
    50        A.  Yes, I do. 
    51 
    52   Q.   In what way? 
    53        A.  Well, in 1976, as I recall, the annual reported
    54        salmonella was about 7,000 a year.  It is now 30,000 plus.
    55        When I qualified -- this was not that long after I had
    56        qualified -- I qualified with an understanding of four
    57        basic types of food poisoning.  At last count, I think we
    58        had 27 different types of food poisoning.  E.coli,
    59        obviously, had not been heard of then, nor had
    60        campylobacter.  Campylobacter was only formally identified

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