Day 050 - 10 Nov 94 - Page 42
1 certain period of time. Do you already have someone in
2 mind?
3
4 MR. MORRIS: Not any specific person.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The fact is when it comes to it you may or
7 may not find someone to give that evidence. I mean, you
8 cannot know yet ---
9
10 MR. MORRIS: No, I cannot yet.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- because you have not made your enquiries.
13 Yes, thank you. Yes, Mr. Rampton?
14
15 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, one knows -- I know from personal
16 experience -- how distressing something like that is, true,
17 I am male and Miss Dibb is not, but even so. At the same
18 time for many people, particularly the younger age like
19 Miss Dibb, the rate of recovery is sometimes -- I am
20 talking now about the emotional and psychological effect
21 because I take it that there has been no injury; I have not
22 heard it suggested that there has been -- quite often
23 surprising quick.
24
25 I would much prefer it, if it was convenient to your
26 Lordship and your Lordship thought it right to do it, that
27 Miss Dibb should be persuaded to come to court on Monday
28 morning. If she still feels shaky -- I have no wish to
29 cross-examine a witness who is not in command of her
30 evidence and herself -- then we should all go away. But,
31 if there is any reasonable chance that she is fit to give
32 evidence, then I would much prefer to take it, for this
33 reason in part, at least, in addition to the things I said
34 this morning, that I have Mr. Mallinson fixed for Friday of
35 the week following. I have shifted him, well, I do not
36 know, it must be three or four times already. I really do
37 not want to displace him in favour of Miss Dibb, if it can
38 possibly be avoided. I do not know that I heard when it
39 was that Miss Dibb was going on holiday, but I have assumed
40 it would be Wednesday, 16th.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is it from Wednesday of next week to
43 Wednesday of the week after?
44
45 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
46
47 MR. RAMPTON: That is what I had assumed. As to Mr. Bateman,
48 I now propose to stand him down until, if ever, I get a
49 statement from the Defendants showing what their new
50 witness, if there is one, is going to say. So, that means
51 that Wednesday and Thursday of the week following will be
52 blank, unless we can get someone to fill in. I quite agree
53 with the suggestion that we should have the argument on the
54 amendment, other things being equal, on Monday, 21st.
55
56 As to preparation time, as I say, it looks now as though
57 Wednesday and Thursday of the week beginning 21st will be
58 blank, tomorrow will be blank and most of this afternoon
59 will be blank. So, the Defendants have lost nothing if it
60 were the case that Miss Dibb were fit to give evidence on
