Day 202 - 11 Jan 96 - Page 11
1 cheating? Name one disciplinary offence against Ray Coton
2 for lying and cheating.
3 A. You just have to read all this here. He was someone
4 who admits that he is docking crew hours in his restaurant;
5 the appalling act of taking this money from crew when it
6 was not there. That is hardly the act of an honest man.
7
8 Q. He said it was going on, he said it was going on throughout
9 the time at Colchester from mid-80s right on until up to
10 nearly when he left?
11 A. Yes, he did say that.
12
13 Q. He said it was the company that was lying and cheating.
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He did not actually say that, no. He said
16 that he was and that Mark Davis was. I do not think I have
17 had any evidence that it went higher than the area
18 Supervisor, from any witness on either side in this case.
19
20 MR. MORRIS: (To the witness) So, are you saying that you were
21 not aware of any personal animosity between Neil Skehel and
22 Ray Coton; it was all a question of just professional, you
23 know -----
24 A. Professional conduct, with Neil attempting to fulfil
25 his job and trying to guide Ray to do the best he could at
26 his job.
27
28 Q. Was there not animosity between the two before that, at
29 regional meetings and in other ways, that people knew about
30 in the Company?
31 A. I would not say that there was any particular marked
32 animosity between Neil and Ray at regional meetings before
33 that. I can think of, you know, these meetings where there
34 is more animosity between other people than those two.
35 I would not highlight that as a particular point of note.
36 The only time that there was any -----
37
38 Q. But there was animosity between the two, before -----
39 A. If I was to describe their relationship, I would not
40 say that the relationship was one based on animosity at
41 all, no. It may have occurred at times, but that is not
42 how I would characterise the relationship between the two
43 of them.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Some of the things which had been discovered,
46 as I understand it -- leave aside for the moment whether
47 Mark Davis knew about them -- had been going on when
48 Ray Coton was Manager and Mark Davis was the area
49 Supervisor, had they not?
50 A. Which things?
51
52 Q. Can you remember the docking of pay, for instance?
53 A. I thought the docking -----
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Perhaps someone could remind me when the
56 incident which involved Sally Spurgeon actually occurred.
57
58 MR. RAMPTON: The evidence was -- and this has not been direct
59 evidence; it is evidence really through admissions made by
60 Mr. Coton in cross-examination -- but he accepted that
