Day 119 - 02 May 95 - Page 02

     
     1                                           Tuesday, 2nd May, 1995.
     2
     3                MR. SIDNEY THOMAS NICHOLSON, recalled.
     4             Cross-Examined by the Defendants, continued.
     5
     6   MR. MORRIS:  If we can just go back to the beginning about your
     7        position and history?
     8        A.  Yes.
     9
    10   Q.   Presently you are Ombudsman, yes?
    11        A.  Yes, that is correct.
    12
    13   Q.   You identify and deal with problems?
    14        A.  Yes.
    15
    16   Q.   Is that individual problems of individuals -- we are
    17        talking about staff -- individual members of staff or what?
    18        A.  We are talking about staff.  We are talking about
    19        franchisees and the organisation.  We are talking about
    20        franchises and franchisees; anywhere in the system in which
    21        there has arisen a problem which has not been resolved
    22        through the normal channels can be referred by either side
    23        to me.
    24
    25   Q.   I am just going to go through the order in which you gave
    26        the evidence, so I might dodge about a bit.  When you were
    27        in the Metropolitan Police, you were in the Metropolitan
    28        Police for 31 years?
    29        A.  No, I was in the Police service for 31 years.  I was in
    30        the Metropolitan Police from 1959 to when I retired in
    31        1982.
    32
    33   Q.   Before that you were in the Bechuanaland Protective Police?
    34        A.  Protectorate.
    35
    36   Q.   Where is that, exactly?
    37        A.  It is roughly South Africa; it is just north of
    38        Transvaal.  It is an inland state.
    39
    40   Q.   When you were in those Police Forces did you have any
         specific role?  I mean, you were generally an operations
    42        police officer; is that correct?
    43        A.  Yes, generally, yes.
    44
    45   Q.   You did not have a separate position of being a welfare
    46        officer or anything like that or Personnel Officer?
    47        A.  Well, I was for two years a founder member of the
    48        Metropolitan Police Force Inspectorate, which is a branch
    49        of the Force responsible for ensuring that the Force
    50        carries out its function and responsibilities correctly. 
    51        So, in that position, although I was a Chief 
    52        Superintendent, I was not commanding anybody. 
    53
    54   Q.   At that time?
    55        A.  At that time, yes.
    56
    57   Q.   When was that you were involved with that Inspectorate?
    58        A.  About roughly 1977 to 1979.
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can I just ask for my own education, in the