Day 086 - 09 Feb 95 - Page 07

     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, I see that.
     3
     4   MR. MORRIS:  I am not really going into his knowledge of the
     5        details, but he has an overview of any implications arising
     6        out of such an accident -- he must do unless he is
     7        incompetent or not interested -- and how they incorporate
     8        the lessons of it into their training.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think that is a valid enough area.  What
    11        there is no point in doing is once he has said he does not
    12        know the circumstances then going into the circumstances.
    13
    14   MR. MORRIS:  I can refer to the circumstances because if it
    15        turns out that the statement of the witness of the
    16        accident, some of the matters that he says are true, then
    17        he should have comment on whether that is something that is
    18        known to happen widely or taken seriously or not of
    19        interest to him.
    20
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, what you can do is say if the
    22        circumstances were such and such and then ask your
    23        question.
    24
    25   MR. MORRIS:  I can ask him to read the witness statement without
    26        commenting on it?
    27
    28   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, all I would say about that is that since
    29        there is an issue on this point, and since what Mr. Chapman
    30        has said is not what the Environmental Health Officer said,
    31        for example, it should be made clear to the witness that
    32        what Mr. Morris puts is emphatically not accepted by
    33        anybody on this side of the court.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not think it is necessary to do that.  I
    36        do not think it is necessary to put the witness statement
    37        to him.  What I think you should do is say if the situation
    38        were such and such, by all means using the witness
    39        statement for your hypothetical, factual situation, if you
    40        see what I mean, but, you see, once you say:  "Read that
         statement", then it is fair enough to say:  "Well, he
    42        should read all the statements".  We do not want him
    43        standing there reading all sides and so on.  You just put
    44        the basis of fact as a hypothesis upon which you then want
    45        to lay your further questions.  Do you understand?  By all
    46        means take it from the statement.
    47
    48   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If you want me to have the statement open in 
    51        front of me so I can see where you are getting it from? 
    52 
    53   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  It is our statement volume II, No. 15.
    54
    55   MS. STEEL:  I think it may be your volume III now.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Right.  Anyway it is No. 15, is it?  Let me
    58        find that.  I will just read it.  Do you know in what way
    59        the first aid box was under-stocked?
    60