Day 250 - 15 May 96 - Page 23
1 MR. RAMPTON: I do not think there is any secret about that, if
2 it would help your Lordship. Mr. Clare worked for Church,
3 Bishop that is, and the other four worked for -- sorry, the
4 other three -- Russell, Pocklington worked for Kings, to
5 use Mr. Carroll's terminology.
6
7 MS. STEEL: Thank you. Yes?
8 A. Then it would appear -- I do not know whether these
9 were originals or whether they were copies, but it would
10 appear each side did it once.
11
12 Q. Yes.
13 A. They would probably both be spoken to because I would
14 not approve of taking letters from your office.
15
16 Q. Right. Would you be concerned about the reliability of
17 somebody employed on your behalf who has ignored your
18 instructions?
19 A. I was concerned, but as long as they remedied it, that
20 was it. People do make mistakes.
21
22 Q. It appears as though Mr. Clare was making mistakes over
23 quite a long period of time.
24 A. I cannot answer that.
25
26 Q. Unless he was not -----?
27 A. I do not know. I do not know. I do not know whether
28 all these letters were taken at the same time or different
29 times. I do not know.
30
31 Q. There is a date stamped that period.
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: This not a matter for comment when I have
34 heard evidence and you can say that 'we invite you to find'
35 this, that and the other, and then infer from that?
36
37 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, further can I add this? I believe your
38 Lordship has given me leave to serve supplementary
39 statements from the inquiry agents. The inquiry agents
40 themselves are going to give evidence, and the
41 supplementary statements are mostly ready, not quite, I am
42 going to hand out a couple at the end of today.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I want to do is continue the
45 cross-examination of Mr. Nicholson so far as we can. The
46 only point I am making is, quite frankly, I am not going to
47 stop you asking, but it does not matter whether these
48 things would affect the reliability of the witness so far
49 as Mr. Nicholson is concerned. If he said, yes, I would
50 think they were unreliable, it would not affect me; if he
51 said, yes, I still think they are reliable, it would not
52 affect me, because at the end of the day I have to decide
53 that, and no one can decide it anyway until we have had all
54 the evidence as to just what was done and what was not
55 done.
56
57 MS. STEEL: I just ask, you are quite sure that you gave
58 categoric instructions to the inquiry agents that they were
59 not to take copies of any letters or do anything, you said,
60 illegal?
