Day 214 - 01 02 96 - Page 45

 
 

                                                                  DAY 214
 
                                           DAVID ROBERTS, Cross-examined:
 
 
 
     1
     2   MR. RAMPTON:  By all means.
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  How much longer do you think your
     5        cross-examination will be?
     6
     7   MS. STEEL:   I cannot tell, but I have quite a few questions.
     8
     9   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Well, what sort of estimate of time in chief
    10        with Mr. Beech?
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  It should not take long.  It is just basically
    13        going through his second statement, reading out the first
    14        statement, going through the second statement, to see if
    15        there is any clarification, especially as some of it is not
    16        very clear.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can Mr. Beech continue on Monday?
    19
    20   MR. MORRIS:  He was going to be back in college in the north of
    21        England on Sunday, but he could stay until Monday if he had
    22        to.
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I do not want Mr. Beech to have to miss a
    25        day's study; that would be silly, if it can be avoided.  So
    26        long as Mr. Roberts is finished this afternoon and so long
    27        as the Defendants do not take more than about an hour with
    28        Mr. Beech -- and from what Mr. Morris has said, I do not
    29        see why they should -- then I will certainly finish
    30        Mr. Beech by the end of the day.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  We all have to suffer inconvenience in some
    33        respects.  One tries to avoid it with witnesses as far as
    34        possible.  What would be satisfactory as far I am concerned
    35        is, if you finish the cross-examination Mr. Roberts this
    36        afternoon, we then have any re-examination of Mr. Rampton,
    37        and we will then adjourn for this afternoon.  We will start
    38        Mr. Beech promptly in the morning, but I am afraid that
    39        will mean me asking him to come back on Monday morning if
    40        it has just not been possible to finish him on Friday.
    41
    42   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If that is an inconvenience to him, then I am
    45        sorry.  But, probably, from what I know about student life,
    46        it is the sort of change which is forgotten a week after it
    47        has happened.  So let us work on that basis.
    48
    49        Mr. Beech, it may be that you will be finished tomorrow
    50        afternoon, but all I am saying is that we will start you 
    51        first thing in the morning and if your evidence is not 
    52        completed on Friday you will have, I am afraid, to come 
    53        back on Monday morning to finish it then.
    54
    55        We will take stock some time during Friday to see whether
    56        you can give a time for Miss Lamb to come on Monday,
    57        because I cannot believe that she will be a very long
    58        witness.
    59
    60   MR. MORRIS:  She is not actually confirmed.  I could phone her
 
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