Day 175 - 18 Oct 95 - Page 23

     
     1        may give you some time to be prepared if the evidence is to
     2        go in.  It will certainly give time for the matter to be
     3        debated in court if there is any issue about what is to
     4        happen.  At the moment, I cannot see that that causes any
     5        injustice so far as Ms. Steel or Mr. Morris is concerned.
     6        In fact, if I were put to a ruling it might be rather more
     7        rigorous than that, if I had to go back to principles, but
     8        that does not matter at the moment.
     9
    10        What I am also contemplating is that if I do give such a
    11        direction, which would be much better if all the parties
    12        agreed that that is the sensible approach, the better to
    13        enable that to be done, I might say that we should not sit
    14        at all next week.
    15
    16        What I am going to do now is rise until 2 o'clock -- that
    17        is fifty-five minutes from now.
    18
    19   MR. RAMPTON:  Can I just say something about this?
    20
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Then I will hear what you want to -----
    22
    23   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I will, if your Lordship gives me leave,
    24        come back to it at 2 o'clock, but only if over the
    25        adjournment somebody says something to me to suggest that
    26        I should, what I was going to say at the moment was simply
    27        this:  I respectfully agree with your Lordship that
    28        Mr. Morris should be allowed to ask about these matters.
    29        These are what I call proper matters of elaboration of what
    30        is in the statement.
    31
    32        My fear is it is somewhat artificial for this reason.  When
    33        Mr. Morris first indicated what he wanted to ask about, he
    34        mentioned names and dates.  That does give this exercise
    35        quite obvious artificiality because, plainly, unless the
    36        position is that Mr. Whittle cannot remember a single name
    37        or a single date to be attached to any single incident, he
    38        is going to give evidence on a half baked basis.
    39        Certainly, if the Defendants do not ask him those
    40        questions, plainly, I shall have to in cross-examination,
         because I have to know whether this is just a broad general
    42        recollection or whether he is actually thinking of
    43        particular events.  That is my problem with it.  Maybe one
    44        sees where one gets to after that, I do not know.
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What I will do is, do you want to say
    47        anything about what I have suggested about the five clear
    48        days?  What I want to do is reach a practical solution to
    49        what I see as a very considerable procedural problem.
    50 
    51   MR. MORRIS:  I think it is a very considerable procedural 
    52        problem for us.  I do not think there is any procedural 
    53        problem for the Plaintiffs.  I feel extremely under
    54        pressure.  I feel extremely inhibited in my questioning of
    55        the witness, and the witness has indicated he is extremely
    56        inhibited about what he feels he is able to say.
    57
    58        You know, probably me saying this will mean that you will
    59        make a ruling that is even worse than the one that you have
    60        just said, but I still feel that it should be noted that we