Day 167 - 02 Oct 95 - Page 11

     
     1
     2   MR. RAMPTON:  Ms. Steel said a moment ago she believed she was
     3        entitled to ask the witness anything.  If she thinks that,
     4        with respect, she is labouring under an enormous
     5        misconception.  She is allowed to do two things -- of
     6        course, the same goes for Mr. Morris -- she is allowed to
     7        try to extract a witness in cross-examination -- I am, I
     8        hope, faithfully following the Court of Appeal's judgment
     9         -- which might go to some issue in the case that has been
    10        specifically pleaded either in the Defence or been raised
    11        in one of the witness statement for the Defendants.
    12
    13        Equally, the Defendants are allowed to ask questions in
    14        cross-examination without such notice, but if they go to
    15        credit only.  Any question which might go to an issue which
    16        has not been pleaded and does not go to credit or credit
    17        only is impermissible, and that includes questions such as
    18        the ones we have just had about children pretending to set
    19        up McDonald's stores at school.
    20
    MS. STEEL:  I think Mr. Rampton misunderstands what I am
    22        saying.
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:  I have not finished, my Lord.  That, as
    25        I understand it, is the Court of Appeal's ruling so far as
    26        this case and any other similar case is concerned for the
    27        future.  If we are going to go trawling through all sorts
    28        of things that Ms. Steel might have read somewhere in a
    29        newspaper or a piece of McDonald's literature or I know not
    30        where, we are going to be here forever.  I will then,
    31        I fear, invite your Lordship then to make a ruling under
    32        the practice direction as to the length of
    33        cross-examination, because it simply is not tolerable,
    34        quite apart from the fact that it is not fair to us because
    35        we have not had notice of it.
    36
    37   MS. STEEL:   When I said about being entitled to ask questions
    38        about anything I wanted, I was referring to the point of
    39        whether or not I had to have some document that had already
    40        been put in front of the Plaintiffs so they knew where it
         was coming from, or they knew where the allegation was
    42        coming from, which I do not believe is the case because
    43        during the cross-examination of Mr. Bruton, Mr. Rampton put
    44        something which contradicted what his own witness, Dr.
    45        Pattison, had said.  I objected at the time and I was told
    46        that Mr. Rampton could put what he wanted, whether or not
    47        it was accurate.  It was up to the witness whether he
    48        wanted to accept it.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  The pretend McDonald's in schools, 
    51        where does that come in the pleading or the statement of 
    52        one of the witnesses? 
    53
    54   MS. STEEL:   It does relate to something.
    55
    56   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Where does it come in the pleading or one of
    57        your statements?
    58
    59   MS. STEEL:   If you want me to say what it relates to, I would
    60        like the witness to leave court.