Day 306 - 26 Nov 96 - Page 41


     
     1
     2        The answers that were given by Mr. Nicholson in relation to
     3        this just do not add up.  The indication is not that he was
     4        worried, or -- sorry, the indication is that he was not
     5        worried about other people knowing of a potential court
     6        case, otherwise why photograph people at all?   But just
     7        that he was worried that they would find out about the
     8        under-cover operation.  However, why should they find out
     9        about the under-cover operation just because of the
    10        photographs?
    11
    12        The other thing about why he should not trust Mr. Carroll,
    13        which does not really add up, is to bear in mind that
    14        Mr. Carroll worked under Mr. Nicholson at the Brixton
    15        Police Station.  So is it really conceivable that
    16        Mr. Nicholson does not trust Mr. Carroll with the
    17        information or with asking him to take photographs of
    18        people distributing the fact sheets?   It just does not add
    19        up.  As I said before, the reality is they did not take any
    20        photographs of people handing out fact sheets and myself
    21        handing out any leaflets because it was not going on.
    22
    23        Going on to his evidence of the leaflet distribution,
    24        Mr. Nicholson said that his first observation was from
    25        inside the ground floor lobby and, at that time, I was
    26        holding a banner, he said the right end of the banner.
    27        That was day 250, page 37, line 36.  I was immediately in
    28        front of the window, quite close to the wall outside the
    29        window.  He said that he did not see Mr. Gravett at that
    30        time and that the cow was not there, that he was observing
    31        it for about ten minutes at the most at that stage.  That
    32        is all on pages 37 and 38.
    33
    34        He then went on to say that 15 minutes later he had come
    35        back down to the same place and that I was still holding
    36        the banner.  That was on day 250, page 38, line 41, and
    37        that a performance was going on with the cow play.  He went
    38        out on the verandah, as he called it, and the picture was
    39        still the same.  He remained there for about one to three
    40        minutes, he said.  He said that he saw people leafleting.
    41        This was day 250, page 39, line 19.  I asked him:  "Do you
    42        remember which leaflets?"  And he said: "I took it to be"
    43         -- emphasis -- "because of the size of the leaflets, that
    44        it was the leaflet complained of, and I had no reason to
    45        believe it was anything else other than that."  That was
    46        page 39, line 10.  So he is making an assumption that it
    47        was the fact sheet, because of its height and width, which
    48        I have got a reference for later on.  That that was the
    49        basis for that assumption.
    50 
    51        I cannot remember where the reference for this is. 
    52 
    53   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Do not worry about that.
    54
    55   MS. STEEL:   He actually said that he recalled there was only
    56        one leaflet, and the point being that if at this time he
    57        only recalls there being one leaflet he is therefore going
    58        to assume that every leaflet that he sees is the fact
    59        sheet, and that is therefore going to paint a picture in
    60        his mind that he remembers that it was the fact sheet.

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