Day 086 - 09 Feb 95 - Page 28


     
     1        it but me answering it in due course, if it is thought to
     2        be relevant.
     3
     4   MR. MORRIS:  Yes, but the problem is that when witnesses come
     5        here and say:  "It was no fault of ours" and they have not
     6        heard all the evidence, they are allowed to say that and
     7        make bland statements saying how the company is never at
     8        fault; yet when challenged they should be able to retract
     9        that statement.  (To the witness):  Are you now prepared to
    10        retract statement that you made before?
    11
    12   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Please, Mr. Rampton -- the answer is "no".
    13        There is no point in asking a witness to answer a question
    14        like that when he has only heard part of the available
    15        evidence.  You put that to me in due course when I have
    16        heard it all.
    17
    18   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I might add for the future assistance of
    19        the Defendants, a question like this involves not only
    20        questions of fact and evidence but probably some quite
    21        difficult questions of law at the end of it all which will
    22        be for your Lordship to decide.
    23
    24   MR. MORRIS:  All right.  Just a last question -- no, I think
    25        I will leave it there.
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Take a moment, if you like.  Do you want the
    28        break now and if you have thought of something you want to
    29        ask, we can do it when you come back.
    30
    31   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    32
    33   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can you just help me as to timing?  The only
    34        reason I ask is that I have been told that some students
    35        were going to come into court this afternoon.  If you can
    36        give some indication of when we are likely to finish
    37        Mr. Atherton, purely for that purpose, I may be able to
    38        send a message back to them.
    39
    40   MR. MORRIS:  You do not know what time they are coming, whether
    41        it is 2 o'clock?
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think they were coming sometime in the
    44        early part of the afternoon.  They are not people I have
    45        met before.  Very often a Judge is just told that a number
    46        of people are going to come into court and sometimes I see
    47        them afterwards.  If you can give a very general
    48        indication; if you think you are going to go on
    49        significantly into the afternoon, that is all I need to
    50        know because their visit will not be wasted. 
    51 
    52   MR. MORRIS:  I think we are likely to continue to half past 2 at 
    53        least, I am not sure, it may be 3.00, 3.30.
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Thank you.  Do not say any more.
    56
    57                       (Short Adjournment)
    58
    59   MS. STEEL:  Could you get pink volume 8B, please?
    60

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