Day 110 - 29 Mar 95 - Page 12

     
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     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If that is the second point, I think I will
     3        pause there.
     4
     5   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.  My Lord, I mention the other two things
     6        before I sit down and I will come back to them.  The third
     7        is the Brazilian amendment, if I can call it that; the
     8        fourth is the evidence of Mr. Nicholson as to which I can
     9        provide some assistance, I think.  I will sit down.
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    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  How long were you anticipating Mr. Long
    12        would be in-chief, because I am not going to enter a legal
    13        argument now about the extent to which Mrs. Druce could be
    14        treated as an expert or not.  I am looking forward to the
    15        question of Mr. Long and Mr. Tyler, and upon what topics
    16        they can give admissible evidence and, therefore, how long
    17        they are likely to take.
    18
    19        Could we just look through and see what you propose to or
    20        think you seek to adduce from Mr. Long, first of all?  His
         letter deals with culled dairy cows being auctioned and
    22        bought to be slaughtered for McDonald's burgers.  Do you
    23        know how much more he has to say in order to identify that
    24        they are going to McDonald's or not at this stage?
    25
    26   MS. STEEL:   I would like the opportunity to respond to what
    27        Mr. Rampton has said.  Mrs. Druce, clearly, had
    28        considerable experience of chicken welfare ------
    29
    30   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have said I do not want to enter into that
    31        now.
    32
    33   MS. STEEL:  It is not fair Mr. Rampton is allowed to make all
    34        these assertions and we are not allowed to answer them.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not going to argue about that now.
    37        I may very well treat her as qualified to give evidence on
    38        the basis of her own experience and enquiries in the past.
    39        What I will have to do from her evidence is exclude,
    40        subject to any argument you presented in due course, what
         someone else has told her because that is straightforward
    42        hearsay.  But let us look at Mr. Long because you have not
    43        done too badly in the past on many occasions in keeping
    44        away from things where a person cannot actually give
    45        admissible evidence.
    46
    47   MR. MORRIS:  Can I just say that Mr. Rampton chose not to put a
    48        challenge to Mrs. Druce to her face and, therefore, he has
    49        abandoned the opportunity to question her ability to give
    50        opinion.  As far as we are concerned, that is his problem. 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Look, Mr. Morris, I have said I am not going 
    53        to have an argument on it now.
    54
    55   MR. MORRIS:  I think that also applies to Mr. Long and
    56        Mr. Tyler.
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I started to embark on Mr. Long and then,
    59        despite saying I did not want to discuss Mrs. Druce, we
    60        started discussing Mrs. Druce.  What I want to do is to try