Day 166 - 28 Sep 95 - Page 06


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think it is for Mr. Atkinson.  I was going
     3        to let both Mr. Atkinsons, as it were, get going and then
     4        depending on how we went ask if you wanted to take it as
     5        read.
     6
     7   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, may I intervene at this point because it
     8        concerns the general management of the case.  If my
     9        witnesses are to be expected to aver their statements and
    10        then expose themselves, as it were, without more ado to
    11        cross-examination, I will expect the Defendants to do the
    12        same.
    13
    14   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I tell you one way we can do it.  In a sense
    15        it is incredibly boring, but it might be justified in this
    16        case, which would be for, in this instance, Mr. Timothy
    17        Atkinson to read out loud this statement and then ask is
    18        there anything which you would wish to modify in relation
    19        to that.  It is a half way house.  It is not a course one
    20        would adopt in most litigation because it is just time
    21        consuming, but it might get over a concern on either side
    22        that if statements are taken as read, the parts of the
    23        witnesses' evidence which are declared in public are the
    24        parts where they maybe making concessions rather than
    25        making assertions which might be favourable to the party
    26        who has called them.  I am saying this when a McDonald's
    27        witness is in the box, but it would apply equally well to a
    28        witness which Ms. Steel or Mr. Morris called.  Is there any
    29        merit in that course?
    30
    31   MR. RAMPTON:  There is a great deal of merit in it, with every
    32        respect to your Lordship.  I believe it is a marvellous
    33        idea because what it avoids is that awful phenomenon which
    34        has happened from time to time -- sometimes on our side,
    35        more often on the Defendants' side for reasons which are
    36        obvious -- that there suddenly starts a great departure
    37        from what is in the written statement.
    38
    39        I am not saying that, the statement having been read and
    40        the witness having said:  "Yes, in principle, that is all
    41        right", there should not be allowances; I think there
    42        should for the odd supplementary question here or there,
    43        certainly.  But it will save an enormous amount of time.
    44
    45   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It will save time.  It will also mean that
    46        the traumatic arthritis in my right hand might be postponed
    47        for a year or two.  Not to be facetious, one can just keep
    48        up rather better.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  Can I say why I raise it now is because I do not 
    51        think any of the Plaintiffs' witnesses on employment have 
    52        had their statement taken as read.  Therefore, it means 
    53        extra work checking.  I am not saying they have to because
    54        it is entirely, you know, their decision, but I know that
    55        as we are not getting transcripts the following day, we are
    56        under an obligation to write down as much as we possibly
    57        can.  It helps if we have the statement we can work on.
    58
    59        Their statements are very carefully considered, very
    60        detailed, very clear.  They have obviously been done with a

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