Day 202 - 11 Jan 96 - Page 28


     
     1   MR. MORRIS:  Otherwise, I have a right to test that.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, you do not.  You only have a right to ask
     4        questions as I allow them to be asked.
     5
     6   MS. STEEL:  There is also the point is that the Plaintiffs' case
     7        is that Ray Coton was a road Manager and everybody else was
     8        doing everything by the book, and that all the problems are
     9        just down to Ray Coton; and it must be the case that we are
    10        entitled to test that.
    11
    12   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I do not want you to.  It is not going to
    13        help me.  When we get to what happened between Neil Skehel
    14        and Ray Coton in 1991, I will listen patiently, but I am
    15        not only not going to listen patiently, I am not going to
    16        listen at all to this point; and that is my ruling on it.
    17
    18   MS. STEEL:   To be honest, I really do not think this case is
    19        fair at all.  I think that we are being prevented from
    20        testing the evidence of the Plaintiffs' witnesses by
    21        spurious objections by Mr. Rampton.  Our right to
    22        cross-examine witnesses is not being defended.
    23
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have made my ruling, Ms. Steel.  I am
    25        trying to keep you on to what is really relevant and which
    26        will be helpful.
    27
    28   MR. MORRIS:  As long as the Plaintiffs have also got their eye
    29        on the ball, as well.
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Carry on with your cross-examination, but
    32        bear it in mind.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  (To the witness)  The B grades were the average
    35        grades, were they not, for this region for quality
    36        standards during 1991?
    37        A.  I do not know if you can just say B grades were the
    38        average grades -----
    39
    40   Q.   B grade would be an average kind of grade for the stores in
    41        the region that you were responsible for, for quality?
    42        A.  Yes.  B grades were achieved by most of the
    43        restaurants, yes.
    44
    45   Q.   Including Colchester High Street, under Ray Coton?
    46        A.  Yes.  I believe his full field results achieved Bs on
    47        quality, yes.
    48
    49   Q.   Yes.  So the reason you gave at the beginning of your
    50        evidence about high crew turnover and quality standards 
    51        meaning that you concluded that Colchester was a problem is 
    52        completely false, is it not, because the kind of crew 
    53        turnover problems at Colchester were typical throughout the
    54        region and the kind of quality standards at Colchester were
    55        typical throughout the region?  So what was the real
    56        reason?
    57        A.  I am not sure if you have actually read the reviews
    58        here, because it seems to me impossible to draw that
    59        conclusion from that.  Talking about crew turnover, if you
    60        -- I know you said not to look at these, but I think it

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