Day 128 - 24 May 95 - Page 52


     
     1        myself sometimes, hence the fact that it might be, I think
     2        it was, 11 and a quarter years in the case of Colchester?
     3        A.  It was.
     4
     5   Q.   From the date of the first entry?
     6        A.  Yes, as I recall.
     7
     8   MS. STEEL:   Were you also asked about minutes of health and
     9        safety meetings?
    10        A.  I do not think so.
    11
    12   Q.   You do not remember Mr. Nicholson asking you about that?
    13        A.  No.
    14
    15   Q.   Or anybody else involved in this case?
    16
    17   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I am not disposed again to accept such a
    18        question is a proper question.  "Anyone else involved in
    19        the case" includes me, Mr. Atkinson and everyone involved
    20        in Barlow, Lyde and Gilbert.
    21
    22   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  There are good reasons for this. Phrase
    23        your question so that it expressly excludes any lawyers.
    24
    25   MS. STEEL:  The only thing with that is that we asked for
    26        affidavits to be sworn by Company executives rather than
    27        legal people so that we could question them about what
    28        enquiries they had made, and in terms of documents other
    29        than employment documents that -----
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It was very apparent though, was it not, that
    32        whether or not it was a lawyer who swore the affidavit, the
    33        lawyer was going to go to someone in the management
    34        structure to take it from there?  So all you need to do for
    35        your purposes is ask Mrs. Barnes whether Mr. Nicholson or
    36        any other member of management (is the way I put it myself)
    37        has asked about whichever document is you have in mind when
    38        you ask the question.
    39
    40   MS. STEEL:  The only thing is, I do not want to get a situation
    41        after that where it is said to me: "Why did you not ask
    42        about -- for all you know, the solicitors might have made
    43        enquiries about it".  If our case is that -----
    44
    45   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let us deal with that problem if it arises;
    46        I have no reason to suppose that it will.
    47
    48   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, again I am disposed to think it is
    49        unlikely anybody would ask questions in any event of
    50        Mrs. Barnes about documents which have little, if any, 
    51        relevance to the issues in this case.  I am looking at the 
    52        last question about "minutes of health and safety 
    53        meetings", and that is another problem.
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That may be so, but I am not going to stop
    56        you asking but ask it in the form I have suggested.
    57
    58   MS. STEEL:  I am not entirely sure -----
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The professional privilege rule is in

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