Day 127 - 23 May 95 - Page 11
1 speaks for itself really.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
4
5 MR. RAMPTON: So, my Lord, I do not accede to the suggestion
6 that Mr. Morris should be allowed to defer his
7 cross-examination to some later period. There could have
8 been a properly qualified person, no doubt, with all the
9 skills to teach the youngster how to use the frame in place
10 at any rate by the end of last week. Mr. Morris declined
11 that opportunity and he has only himself to blame for the
12 difficulty he now finds himself in.
13
14 MS. STEEL: In response to what Mr. Rampton has just said, I
15 want to say it is actually my experience that when we ask
16 the Plaintiffs to do things, they are not particularly
17 helpful about doing them except when it has some advantage
18 to them. They have not copied lots of videos for us.
19 I think there was one, apart from the ones where they were
20 copying them because they had lost the copies that we had
21 already given them.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: When did you receive the last of the health
24 and safety videos?
25
26 MS. STEEL: Well, sometime ago, but we have always made it clear
27 right before this case started that we had not -- I mean,
28 you will remember that we were making applications for
29 adjournments in order that we could read all the documents
30 and see all the documents before the case started. The
31 adjournments were not granted. We were advised to do it,
32 as we were doing along, and that is what we have been
33 doing.
34
35 I have watched, I think, one or two of them a considerable
36 time ago. I did not watch them all. I did not have the
37 time to watch them all at the time and I would like to do
38 so before finishing the cross-examination of Mrs. Barnes.
39
40 I would reiterate as well the point about the documents
41 served last week. We do consider that we do want to ask
42 witnesses questions about them, get their opinion of
43 matters that are raised in them, and also ask expert
44 witnesses about matters in them.
45
46 I do not know, it just seems that yet again by something
47 being the Plaintiffs' fault in disclosing documents late,
48 Mr. Rampton is turning it around to be an attack on us,
49 where if we disclose a document late, it is an attack on
50 us. It seems like we are to blame for everything. They
51 could have disclosed them a considerable time ago.
52 Mr. Rampton could have read it several months ago and
53 thought: "Oh, I ought to disclose this several months
54 ago". I do not think there is anything else.
55
56 (For ruling, please see separate transcript)
57
58 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I will break for five minutes now and then we
59 will proceed with the evidence.
60
