Day 172 - 12 Oct 95 - Page 31
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2 MR. RAMPTON: I am not sure that is right, because I have a
3 belief that I can put in material which is apt to discredit
4 the valid evidence or the admissible.
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6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Then you have to put in that he said this in
7 this statement.
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9 MR. RAMPTON: Yes, but I do not put it in as evidence of the
10 truth. This statement is tendered as evidence of the
11 truth, which is -----
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13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I mean, my reaction at the moment, you have to
14 decide whether it is read out as part of his statement.
15 You may very well then say it is not evidence of the truth,
16 but it is a key to reliance on -----
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18 MR. RAMPTON: I will come back. If I am wrong about -- I would
19 ask your Lordship to take out on the proper ground that it
20 is inadmissible as evidence of the truth. It cannot be
21 read by the Defendants for any other purpose. They are not
22 permitted to do that. If I am wrong that I cannot use it,
23 that is my funeral; I will not use it if it has come out.
24 Your Lordship puts me to my election, in a sense, but I
25 would rather have it out than there as something I might
26 want to use in the future. It may be that I shall be able
27 to persuade your Lordship that I am entitled to use it in
28 any event, but I will take that risk if I may. I do not
29 think it proper that it should be read out at all in this
30 context of Defendants' Civil Evidence Act statements.
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32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There you are. It is a matter for you.
33 I must say that I find it at the moment impossible to see
34 how I can take account of something which has not come out
35 in open court.
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37 MR. RAMPTON: What I am suggesting is -- and I do not feel
38 terribly sure of my ground, which is why, as I say, I take
39 the risk -- it may come back into open court by a different
40 route. It may well be read out, but not as part of the
41 statement tendered as evidence of its truth.
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43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. It seems to me it would have to be
44 declared in open court that that is part of the witness's
45 statement.
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47 MR. RAMPTON: That I understand.
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49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If one is going to come to that, then we
50 might as well deal with it all at the same time.
51 I appreciate the point you take, that it would not be in as
52 evidence of the truth of what was said there, but that
53 seems to me to be a matter for you. I mean, if you object
54 to it and I uphold your objection, then it goes right out
55 of my mind for the moment and you cannot pray it in
56 aid -----
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58 MR. RAMPTON: Unless I can get it back into your Lordship's mind
59 by some legitimate route.
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