Day 078 - 26 Jan 95 - Page 02
1 Thursday, 26th January 1995.
2
3 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I have finished my examination-in-chief
4 of Mr. Walker. Mr. Morris has got delayed. Ms. Steel,
5 I understand, has some questions but may run out before
6 Mr. Morris gets here. I could use five minutes of your
7 Lordship's time by mentioning something about the witness
8 schedule.
9
10 Your Lordship's copy probably indicates that Mr. Keith
11 Kenny is due to give evidence on 6th February and Mr. David
12 Wignall on 13th March or thereabouts. In the first place
13 I should tell your Lordship that Mr. Wignall, having now
14 left the company, recently left the company, it is our
15 intention to substitute for him a man who is his boss or
16 was his boss called Mr. John Atherton.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Atherton?
19
20 MR. RAMPTON: Atherton as in the English cricket captain. He
21 will take Mr. Wignall's place. There will be a very short
22 supplementary statement from him explaining who he is and,
23 by and large, he confirms what Mr. Wignall says in his
24 witness statement, so there is no particular change to the
25 substance of the evidence.
26
27 It is our intention, because of the change in the identity
28 of the witnesses and the consequential administrative
29 difficulties in which that places them, then instead of
30 Mr. Kenny on 6th, to put in Mr. Atherton and to bring
31 Mr. Kenny in on Monday, 13th March. It should now go
32 Atherton on 6th February, Kenny on 13th March.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: When can you serve the supplemental statement
35 which, presumably, apart from anything else, will set out
36 Mr. Atherton's position and experience?
37
38 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. My Lord, his supplementary statement or his
39 statement was taken yesterday. It is in draft and it has
40 to be signed by him, so I hope within the next couple of
41 days.
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do you anticipate any difficulty about that,
44 Ms. Steel?
45
46 MS. STEEL: It is hard to say without seeing the statement; it
47 depends how much of what he says is exactly the same
48 as -----
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Assume for the moment that it really just
51 verifies what Mr. Wignall has said, although it may or may
52 not be a matter you would want to pursue when he was
53 actually in the witness box to what extent he can cover
54 what Mr. Wignall says and to what extent he can say more.
55 But that is something which you would not explore until he
56 was in the witness box anyway probably.
57
58 MS. STEEL: I mean, I think it is hard to say but just bearing
59 in mind that it will only be a week.
60
