Day 257 - 06 Jun 96 - Page 54
1 What is your best estimate for Mr. Fairgrieve?
2
3 MS. STEEL: There is actually a fair bit to go.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Shall we say Mr. Nicholson not before two
6 o'clock?
7
8 MS. STEEL: I think so. Definitely, yes.
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest is that maybe
11 Mrs. Brinley-Codd may ring Mr. Nicholson anyway, but if we
12 can have half a day of Mr. Nicholson tomorrow afternoon,
13 well and good. It is becoming clearer and clearer to me,
14 although either side may dissuade me from it, that I can
15 only look at the figures which Mr. Fairgrieve gives in a
16 very approximate way as a broad indication of this or
17 that. That may be good enough for your purposes, in so far
18 as you want to say, for instance, there are a significant
19 number of people who eat quite frequently at McDonald's, or
20 something of that kind. But it is only sort of broad
21 conclusions of that kind, it seems to me, that
22 Mr. Fairgrieve's figures are going to help me too. I am
23 not saying I have come to that conclusion, but it will be
24 that sort of broad conclusion, if I can draw any conclusion
25 at all.
26
27 So, if that is your view also at this stage, then I suggest
28 you bear it in mind as you continue your
29 cross-examination. You have your own survey anyway which
30 Mr. Rampton does not require you to call a witness to
31 prove, unless you have a particular reason for doing so.
32
33 MS. STEEL: Yes. I mean, I think -- I do not know -- but
34 I know if we had the raw data the whole thing would have
35 been about 50 times quicker.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not know. It might have helped or it
38 might have made the matter far more complex than was
39 necessary, if one can only draw a broad conclusion.
40
41 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. I want to make my position absolutely
42 clear. The question of discovery of the raw data is
43 actually not an easy one, I do not believe. I do not know
44 enough yet and I want to ask Mr. Fairgrieve some questions
45 about it before your Lordship decided that question, if the
46 question should be asked.
47
48 I am quite happy to concede that whichever way you look at
49 it there is a number of people, whether it is a large
50 number or a small number, it is a significant number of
51 people -- what "significant" means in the context, of
52 course, depends on one's point of view -- that eats
53 McDonald's food once a week or more. Proportionately, of
54 course, it is a tiny number of people, but that may not be
55 the question. As I say, it depends on how you look at it.
56 The exact numbers seem to me to be really totally
57 irrelevant, which is one of the reasons that I will
58 certainly not willingly agree to make any further
59 discovery.
60
