Day 077 - 25 Jan 95 - Page 10
1 have been heard, then there is maybe a reluctance to recall
2 or wish to recall or have a situation where they might have
3 to be recalled. I think that -----
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is entirely up to you. I have to say if
6 it is allowed into the case as an issue, it is a pretty
7 discreet issue, and by which I mean you can draw a defined
8 line around it. There is no reason why witnesses should
9 not come back. One would like to avoid that in any case,
10 but we have gone long past the stage where we are avoiding
11 that in this case. I think, I have not made up my mind,
12 but the first step you are going to have do in
13 demonstrating that it is relevant in some way is sit down
14 and say: "Well, this is the way we would plead it". Quite
15 frankly, you are in no position to do that this morning,
16 are you?
17
18 MR. MORRIS: Not properly, no. Without arguing the whole point,
19 which we could do, but maybe it is better not to, our basic
20 position would be it is under the heading of "meat and its
21 relationship with disease". I do not mean disease because
22 of diet, I mean disease because of food poisoning.
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think you should, quite frankly, reserve
25 your argument on this. I have not made up my mind but
26 I make it quite clear to you I am finding it very difficult
27 at the moment to see where it comes into a leaflet which
28 mentions certain specific diseases. It mentions buildup of
29 certain specified drugs or substances in animals' tissues
30 which can damage the health of people on a meat-based
31 diet. It mentions food poisoning, and I do not see at the
32 moment BSC coming into any of those categories.
33
34 It is clearly not in the realm of antibiotics, growth
35 promoting hormone drugs or pesticides. It is not one of
36 the named diseases. I would not see it as being, since it
37 is an encephalopothy, food poisoning. I will listen to
38 carefully to any argument you present, but if you put me to
39 a ruling, you may find yourselves in difficulty on it. All
40 I am doing is giving you the opportunity of going away and
41 thinking about it and getting your argument in order and
42 drafting some kind of pleading, perhaps with help from
43 outside, I do not know.
44
45 MR. MORRIS: We will have to take that course then.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: But in the meantime we cannot touch on it
48 because it is not part of the case yet.
49
50 MS. STEEL: Can I just say, actually it has been brought up
51 already by Mr. Rampton; he questioned Mr. Gonzales about
52 it.
53
54 MR. JUSTICE BELL: At the moment there will not be one word
55 about BSE in any judgment which I deliver in this case. If
56 it is brought into the case by an amendment which I allow,
57 then we will hear evidence on it and, of course, I will
58 deal with it in my judgment. But one way or the other,
59 there will be no comment about BSE on the evidence as it
60 stands at this stage in the case even if it has been
