Day 110 - 29 Mar 95 - Page 09
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Thank you.
2
3 (The witness withdrew)
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Does that mean that is it for today?
6
7 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, there are some matters I would like to
8 raise since we have a little time. It will not take very
9 long. I will take them in the order in the way that they
10 have occurred to me because there is no logical order.
11
12 The first thing is this, my Lord: It arises really out of
13 the nature and content of -- I will not call it evidence,
14 or I reluctantly call it evidence -- the evidence given by
15 Claire Druce yesterday and the day before. My Lord, it is
16 my impression -- of course, at the end of the day it is
17 entirely a matter for your Lordship, not for me -- which is
18 why I did not cross-examine her, she had no qualifications
19 whatever to give evidence as an expert. She had no
20 relevant or very little relevant knowledge or experience of
21 either battery farming or, more particularly, broiler
22 farming.
23
24 What she did know was mostly hearsay based on what people
25 have told her and what she has seen on the television; she
26 had no experience whatsoever of Sun Valley. I sat here,
27 she being in court already called, not thinking it
28 appropriate to make an intervention whilst she was still
29 here.
30
31 The reason, my Lord, I mention those things (which will not
32 come as a surprise to your Lordship, I know) is this:
33 I re-read last night the statements of Mr. Long and
34 Mr. Tyler. I am not saying that your Lordship should make
35 any ruling as to whether or not those two gentlemen can or
36 cannot give evidence -- that is not what I am on my feet
37 for -- but my suspicion is, having read their statements,
38 that they will be as witnesses very much in the same case
39 as Mrs. Druce.
40
41 What I would invite the Defendants to consider is whether
42 it is a right and proper use of the court's time and of my
43 clients' money, that we should sit here for a total of it
44 looks like three days listening to evidence which really
45 (a) is inadmissible and (b) has no serious bearing on the
46 issues in this case.
47
48 There is a supplementary statement by Mr. Long which
49 contains a bare assertion that he has seen cows which were
50 to be slaughtered for McDonald's.
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You say "supplementary statement"?
53
54 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, yes. There is a sort of additional
55 letter. My Lord, he is tab 1 of that bundle.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. What I have there is the date of the
58 fax is 1st November 1993.
59
60 MR. RAMPTON: That is it, my Lord.
