Day 214 - 01 02 96 - Page 18

 
 

                                                                  DAY 214
 
                                                 DAVID ROBERTS, Examined:
 
 
 
     1        truth, it is that.  As soon as you came, it must have been
     2        clear to everyone that you were getting more staff?
     3        A.  Initially, no.  The crew would not be aware of my
     4        plans.
     5
     6   Q.   There we are, then.
     7        A.  I mean -----
     8
     9   MR. JUSTICE RAMPTON:   Some things you hear and nothing will
    10        persuade you that your big headed approach to the evidence
    11        is wrong.  There we are.  I have made my point,
    12        Mr. Rampton.
    13
    14   MR. RAMPTON:  As your Lordship said on a previous occasion, the
    15        fact that one witness does not hear it does not mean that
    16        it did not happen.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Absolutely not.  That is why I floated what
    19        I thought was the life raft that as soon as he came they
    20        had no need to shout it because they knew he was getting on
    21        with it.
    22
    23   MR. RAMPTON:  After a short time, that is perfectly true.
    24
    25        (To the witness): Turn over the page, please, Mr. Roberts,
    26        "Food Integrity". "Mr. Beech worked on the beef regular
    27        patty grill on his very first day with almost no training."
    28        We will forget that one, because you were not there then.
    29
    30        Next one:  "Clam shells were sometimes badly set when he
    31        came to work.  Most crew would not notice as they were
    32        inexperienced or too do busy.  He was not trained to
    33        understand the settings.  They all assumed" -- that is the
    34        crew -- "Managers would be responsible.  But he noticed
    35        problems mainly once a month of burgers undercooked on one
    36        side, following which he would reset the two low pressure
    37        clam grills.  It could have been like that for hours as the
    38        undercooking was not obvious until close examination."
    39
    40        Do you understand, Mr. Roberts, what Mr. Beech is alleging
    41        there or not?
    42        A.  I can get a vague idea, but unless it was specific as
    43        to which grill and what settings they were on, it would
    44        only have to be speculation as to what he is trying to say.
    45
    46   Q.   Explain what the settings are, because we got some idea of
    47        them from Miss Moffatt; but, certainly, so far as I am
    48        concerned, I am still a bit foggy.
    49        A.  The settings as I take it from here is, the settings is
    50        basically the gap between the lower grill surface and the 
    51        clam itself.  We have different products that we cook on 
    52        the grill; we have regular meat, quarter meat, sausage, 
    53        which are the ones that are usually used -- because some
    54        are thicker than others; you have to have a different
    55        setting to ensure that it is cooked correctly; i.e., the
    56        regular meat is far thinner than the quarter meat.
    57
    58   Q.   Pause there.  Let me just see if I can find out if
    59        I understand what is being alleged.  There is a difference
    60        of gap, according to what is thickness of meat you are
 
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