Day 122 - 05 May 95 - Page 07
1 they have the bundles as well; they have not just got the
2 statement -----
3
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have given you my view on that.
5
6 MR. RAMPTON: They have. Of course, if it were the case, which
7 I feel perfectly certain -- I am now being told that I can
8 have a full explanation if I get the chance to be given
9 it.
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
12
13 MR. RAMPTON: I do not know what it is. I am fairly confident
14 that this has not happened in any other case, but what I am
15 very confident about, without having checked through every
16 single statement I have and checked it against the
17 statements in the bundle, what has not happened here is
18 that there is in any sense any information which has been
19 withheld from the Defendants. In other words, as your
20 Lordship was posing a moment ago, they have been given a
21 statement which did not contain information which was in
22 the trial bundles' statement.
23
24 In other words, your Lordship had access to information, if
25 your Lordship cared to read it, which they did not have.
26 That, I can see, would put them at a disadvantage if they
27 did not check it against the statement in the trial bundle.
28
29 My Lord, I am very confident that has not happened. What
30 happened in this particular case, the only thing I can tell
31 your Lordship (because it is the only thing I know) is that
32 the Mark Hopkins' passage, I have just been told it by
33 Mrs. Brinley-Codd, was taken out of the trial bundle
34 version of the statements -- the Defendants have it, of
35 course -- taken out of the trial bundle part of
36 Mr. Nicholson's statement because on his part it was
37 entirely hearsay and it was transferred to Mrs. Barnes.
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It may well be that when you have had an
40 opportunity to be fully instructed on this -- I think you
41 should be -- there will be a perfectly reasonable
42 explanation. But, for all I know, your instructions will
43 be that this one was served other than just in the bundle.
44 I must say that if there are cases where what is in the
45 bundle which, of course, has been served on the Defendants
46 is not the same as the original disclosed statement in
47 respect of a witness and they have not expressly been told
48 that, I do not myself consider that is satisfactory for the
49 reasons which I have tried to give.
50
51 MR. RAMPTON: I accept that. What should have happened --
52 Mrs. Brinley-Codd used the words to me and I will use them
53 to your Lordship -----
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not jumping the gun because when you
56 have had an opportunity to talk to Mrs. Brinley-Codd, it
57 may all fall away, for all I know.
58
59 MR. RAMPTON: I do not know. I do not know what the explanation
60 is. All I can say is if the Defendants made the assumption
