Day 177 - 26 Oct 95 - Page 16

     
     1        is:  yes, it is entirely another matter.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I merely mention it now.  It may not just be
     4        a question I have to determine of what the meaning is, but
     5        which parts of that meaning are defamatory and which are
     6        not.  When I say "defamatory", I do not mean to say whether
     7        they are true or not, just that prima facie they would
     8        reduce the person's reputation.  There we are.  Let us see
     9        how we go, then.
    10
    11   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I say straightaway we do not regard our
    12        nutrition meaning as divisible in any way.  It has to be
    13        read as a whole.  You cannot have the defamatory part of
    14        it, the dishonest behaviour of the knowledge and hazard of
    15        risk, without the first part, which is that there is a
    16        risk.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL: I understand that absolutely.  It may be
    19        academic, but I would be interested in what you say as to
    20        whether F1, even if it is stood alone, would be
         defamatory.
    22
    23   MR. RAMPTON:  That is a difficult question.
    24
    25   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You follow your own route.  I wanted to air
    26        the question before you began.
    27
    28   MR. RAMPTON:  I will if I may.  Can I, before I start, just do
    29        some paper administration.  I am sorry that I did not do it
    30        earlier, but I have been quite busy.  I would propose to
    31        start by inviting your Lordship's attention to some
    32        passages in Gatley, which your Lordship may think, when we
    33        have done a brief tour of the authorities, do actually, for
    34        once in that text book's life, fairly summarise what the
    35        authorities say the law is.
    36
    37        It looks a formidable bundle, but it is not in fact,
    38        because I am not going to read out all these passages.  But
    39        I put them together as far as I can for continuity.
    40        Your Lordship probably has a Gatley, but at least one can
         write on those.  Then what I have also done, on reflection,
    42        I thought it sensible to copy the two pages from
    43        South Hetton Coal Co. v. N.E. News Association, following
    44        the two which are two pages of the judgment which are in
    45        the bundle already, the reason being that one can see from
    46        the following pages the decision in the case and, also,
    47        there is some guidance from the Lord Justice about what is
    48        defamatory of a company, which your Lordship might find
    49        helpful.  (Handed)  That should go into number 9 behind the
    50        two or three pages that are already there. 
    51 
    52   MR. MORRIS:  Is there a place for the Gatley? 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Stick that bit on the front.
    55
    56   MR. RAMPTON:  Stick it on the front of the authorities bundle.
    57        Then the other thing I have done, or two other things, one
    58        is to reproduce a page -- again, for convenience, everyone
    59        has this, but it is better that I do it this way -- a page
    60        from the judgment of Drake J. on 7th July 1993.  It is