Day 271 - 01 Jul 96 - Page 02
1 Monday, 1st July 1996
2
3 MR. MORRIS: Yes, we are sorry about today. We did not know
4 until we heard from Mr. Glenn.
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6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What has happened? I have had a short
7 message from Mr. Glenn.
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9 MS. STEEL: That is as much as we know.
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11 MR. MORRIS: I spoke to him last night.
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13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You tell me what has happened. Start from
14 scratch.
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16 MR. MORRIS: I spoke to the witness last night.
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18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Mr. Brett.
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20 MR. MORRIS: Yes, he was all due to come, meeting him outside
21 Court at quarter-to-ten. We have never met him. I was
22 waiting there until quarter-past-ten when Mr. Riley said
23 that he had 'phoned in.
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25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That Mr. Brett had 'phoned in?
26 (Message handed) I am sorry, I thought the message had come
27 from either you or Miss Steel.
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29 MR. MORRIS: No. We did not know anything about it at all.
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31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, the message. I do not suppose you
32 would mind it being read out in Court, although it
33 obviously has a personal element. Mr. Brett, he 'phoned,
34 Mr. Riley, did he? "Mr. Brett unable to attend as witness
35 today. His wife has been taken ill and rushed to
36 hospital." So there we are.
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38 MR. MORRIS: Our position -- we have discussed this -- is that
39 in the light of all the difficulties with Mr. Brett and the
40 end of the evidence approaching we believe it is better not
41 to call him at all.
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43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. It is a decision that is entirely up to
44 you. Had you chosen to try and get him, say, to come on
45 Wednesday or Thursday afternoon I would have been amenable
46 to that but I perfectly understand the decision.
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48 MR. MORRIS: I do not think it will take it much further on the
49 Colchester matters anyway. The only thing I can think of
50 that we could do, if we are not to abandon completely the
51 whole day, is the US video. The problem is neither me nor
52 Mrs. Brinley-Codd, apparently, can trace the full edited
53 transcript of the video.
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55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think I have seen two--
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57 MR. MORRIS: There were two.
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59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There are two transcripts. There was one
60 which was considerably edited and then another which was