Day 311 - 06 Dec 96 - Page 33


     
     1
     2   MS. STEEL:  Can I say, there is no evidence that that affidavit
     3        was unprompted.  Of Mr. Morris.
     4
     5   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am sorry, you must let Mr. Rampton develop
     6        his submission.
     7
     8   MS. STEEL:   But it is a legal point, because he is giving
     9        evidence that it was an unprompted affidavit and there is
    10        no evidence of that.
    11
    12   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, he is not.  He is suggesting that it was
    13        unprompted for my consideration.
    14
    15   MS. STEEL:   Just as long as there is not evidence
    16        recognising-----
    17
    18   MR. RAMPTON:  There is no evidence one way or the other.
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If there are any more interruptions I am
    21        going to have to take firm action about it.  I realise that
    22        when you are on the other side in litigation you may want
    23        to bite back every so often, but Mr. Rampton was extremely
    24        patient during your submissions and you must be patient
    25        during his and just keep quiet.
    26
    27   MS. STEEL:   He did actually raise matters where he considered
    28        that we had said something wrong, something incorrect,
    29        which is all I am doing.
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL: All Mr. Rampton has suggested for my
    32        consideration, he puts it in straightforward terms, is that
    33        what was in Mr. Morris' affidavit was unprompted.  That is
    34        a matter for me to decide, but there can be no objection to
    35        Mr. Rampton suggesting it to me.
    36
    37   MR. RAMPTON:  Since Mr. Morris did not give evidence we shall
    38        never know one or way or the other how the question and
    39        answer, especially if there was one between him and his
    40        solicitor, might have gone.  But the main point is this,
    41        and really this is the part of Mr. Clare's evidence which
    42        is chiefly important; that he records an admission made by
    43        Mr. Morris as to production of the anti-McDonald's
    44        material, and if I can be a little bit rhetorical about it,
    45        lo! and behold, five and a half years later, outside the
    46        four walls of this case, in another case entirely which
    47        Mr. Morris has no reason to suppose would come to our
    48        attention, Mr. Morris says on oath precisely what he has
    49        said to Mr. Clare five and a half years earlier.
    50 
    51        Even ignoring certainties, if one is considering only the 
    52        balance of probabilities, which one is in this case, those 
    53        two independent pieces of evidence at five and a half years
    54        distance provide a quite remarkable corroboration of each
    55        other.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What it seems to me you are saying is that if
    58        I thought the situation -- leave aside for the moment, I am
    59        not saying it is unimportant, 8th February 1990, which is
    60        the business of whether members of the group said that they

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