Day 236 - 17 04 96 - Page 7

 
 

                                                                  Day 236
 
 
 
 
 
     1   MR. RAMPTON:  The instructions we have been given is that there
     2        is nothing, other than what has already been disclosed via
     3        the -- and these are instructions from the American lawyers
     4        -- other than what was disclosed via the file which was at
     5        Barlow Lyde and Gilbert.  I am bound to say I do not find
     6        that at all surprising.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do you want to say anything about that, Ms.
     9        Steel or Mr. Morris?
    10
    11   MR. MORRIS:  Not particularly, no.
    12
    13   MR. RAMPTON:  There was another thing your Lordship mentioned.
    14        I am afraid I do not have a list.
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The final one was the edited version of or
    17        transcript of the Mr. Rensi phone-in video.
    18
    19   MR. RAMPTON:  Mr. Atkinson is doing that and that should be
    20        ready by the end of today.  What we propose to do then,
    21        since again, I have to say Mr. Morris is right and I am
    22        wrong, is that on the basis of that we will disclose the
    23        edited transcript anyway, the additional pieces, but then
    24        make an edited version of the video tape itself, which
    25        apparently is much easier than I thought it was.  That
    26        exercise, the editing of the written transcript, should be
    27        completed by today.  So that the Defendants should have it,
    28        at any rate, by tomorrow.  How long it will take to get the
    29        video tape done, I do not know.  But I do know it is much
    30        less complicated than I thought.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  Do you have anything to say about that?
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  No.
    35
    36   MR. RAMPTON:  The only other thing I was going to say at this
    37        point, and this may help save time now.  As your Lordship
    38        knows we propose, have proposed calling Mr. Carroll and Mr.
    39        Nicholson on the issue of publication.  Not principally
    40        because of the absence of Mr. Monroe.  That has really got
    41        little do with it, but because, in any event, the last two
    42        days of this week were blank.  The Defendants -- I do not
    43        criticise them for this -- were invited to, by your
    44        Lordship, to fill those two days and for one reason or
    45        another, have not been able to do so and rather than waste
    46        another two days of court time, we propose calling those
    47        two gentlemen on the issue of publication.
    48
    49        A difficulty has arisen in this sense, and I agree it is a
    50        limited difficulty; Ms. Steel may not agree, but I believe 
    51        it is.  She has asked to inspect some of the original 
    52        documents on publication.  The only significant document 
    53        that I can think of that bears upon the evidence of Mr.
    54        Nicholson and Mr. Carroll, as opposed to the other
    55        publication witnesses, is the original of the leaflet
    56        complained of which was seen to be distributed and indeed,
    57        was collected by McDonald's on the 16th October 1989.
    58
    59        All the subsequent events described by Mr. Carroll and Mr.
    60        Nicholson, and particularly Mr. Carroll, who has come after
 
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