Day 253 - 21 May 96 - Page 44
1 information -- and I stress the word 'all' -- remains the
2 subject of legal professional privilege, even if, which
3 I do not know, but even if, it were relevant to the issues
4 in this action. We have not waived that privilege, and we
5 do not intend to do so.
6
7 Therefore, so far as interrogatory 3 is concerned, any
8 dates or information about any meetings which they are said
9 to, or thought to, have attended remains undisclosable.
10 And by 'undisclosable' I mean in answer to questions to Mr.
11 Nicholson, if he should have an answer, in answer to
12 interrogatories and in answer to an application for
13 discovery.
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You mean, even an answer as to the date and
16 location of any meeting which, for instance, Frances Tiller
17 or Michelle Hooker attended, that is privilege?
18
19 MR. RAMPTON: Yes.
20
21 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I would need you to elaborate your argument
22 on that.
23
24 MR. RAMPTON: Well, I can do in due course but I need to do it
25 by reference to the authorities.
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
28
29 MR. RAMPTON: Since I have only just been given this handwritten
30 piece of paper I do not have the authorities with me.
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No.
33
34 MR. RAMPTON: Plainly, that is right, in our submission.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think we should try and deal with that on
37 Thursday.
38
39 MR. RAMPTON: I can do, certainly, yes.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The point I have in mind, you see, is further
42 statements are being called for sooner rather than later
43 from the Defendants, whether they be supplemental
44 statements in relation to their own potential evidence or
45 of any other witness they may wish to call, and it seems to
46 me that they should do that all of a go and should have
47 such information as I hold they are entitled to have in
48 relation to other inquiry agents before they do that.
49 Otherwise, it is all in dribs and drabs.
50
51 MR. RAMPTON: I fully understands that. I am not saying that
52 by, shall I say, an exercise of imagination one could not
53 think that a meeting or two attended by either of those two
54 ladies might be relevant to the issues in the action. It
55 does not follow from that that I am obliged to disclose the
56 dates, still less am I obliged to disclose any information
57 relating to what took place on those occasions.
58
59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. I am not for a moment suggesting you
60 are wrong, because I make no bones about the fact it is
