Day 167 - 02 Oct 95 - Page 35
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2 MR. RAMPTON: Certainly we do not have that. Mr. Richards
3 remembers something about it and can tell your Lordship
4 what he remembers of it.
5
6 So far as clock-cards are concerned, that is M. Logan
7 himself on that page. Again Mr. Richards will give
8 evidence about that. I will not anticipate it, but your
9 Lordship may think when you have heard that evidence there
10 is no need for any discovery in that area.
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12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You see, if I think aloud for a moment: If
13 sufficient detail is actually given (and it may not have to
14 be very much detail, I do not know) with the result that
15 Mr. Richards when he got into the witness box, if he was
16 asked about it, would say: "Oh, yes, we should have some
17 documentation which can fairly easily be got on that", then
18 I might welcome it, especially if I am going to be faced
19 with a conflict, if I am, between Mr. Logan who, for all
20 I know, might appear in the witness box to be a perfectly
21 decent and honest chap, and Mr. Richards who in the witness
22 box may appear to be a perfectly honest and decent chap.
23 If there some documentation which is not too difficult to
24 get hold off which will point the balance of probabilities
25 distinctly one way or the other, then obviously I would
26 welcome that.
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28 There may be one of these witnesses where Mr. Richards
29 would say: "I remember X and I think we might still have
30 something which will help on that". There may be others
31 where he will say: "Well, I remember so and so; he or she
32 left two years ago and I do not think there is any prospect
33 of having that". I just do not know.
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35 One course to follow might be to have Mr. Richards called
36 to take whatever course you or Mr. Atkinson chooses to do
37 with the substance of his evidence, no doubt, as forecast
38 in his statement, and then pursue matters like that as
39 supplementals both as to information or possible
40 documentation, and then sit back, pause there and see where
41 we have got to so far as any possible further discovery is
42 concerned. I do not know whether that appeals or not?
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44 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, yes, but can I insert another layer into
45 that sandwich which is this, that is how we had envisaged
46 it would go. If and insofar as we can lay hands on any
47 documents which your Lordship thought relevant and
48 necessary (and it certainly would not, we do not believe,
49 go beyond a few documents in this particular case), what
50 I had in mind was that rather than lose yet more time (and
51 I will not say any more on that at the moment), the
52 Defendants should proceed this afternoon when we have got
53 beyond that with any additional questions they want to ask
54 about documents, but with a cross-examination quite
55 independent of any documents which they must already have
56 prepared. Then we would produce the documents as soon as
57 physically possible with a view to Mr. Richards'
58 cross-examination continuing tomorrow with, one would hope,
59 the documents in court.
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