Day 237 - 18 04 96 - Page 27

     1   MR. RAMPTON:  No, Mr. Morris is not entitled to ask that
     2        question.
     3
     4   MR. MORRIS:  Yes, I am; it is an issue in the case, whether the
     5        legal action was contemplated.
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, listen.  You are not allowed to ask
     8        anything about it being blanked out unless I have some
     9        reason to suppose, despite Mr. Rampton's assertions to the
    10        contrary, that it is relevant to an issue in the case.  The
    11        only possible issue in the case to which it could be
    12        relevant is whether you or Ms. Steel -- in this case more
    13        likely Ms. Steel -- participated in any publication of the
    14        leaflet.  Anything to do with the nature of the
    15        demonstration itself is only relevant if it is relevant to
    16        that issue.
    17
    18   MS. STEEL:  I would say that the Plaintiffs have thrown that up
    19        as being relevant because yesterday they were saying that
    20        the nature of these demonstrations is that people swap
    21        jobs, they do this, do that.  Therefore, I really cannot
    22        see how, if this is about the demonstration, as Mr. Rampton
    23        has said it is, it can possibly be something that is
    24        irrelevant.
    25
    26   MR. RAMPTON:  Because it relates to a period of time before the
    27        demonstration took place.  I am not going to say any more.
    28        It does not have to do with the character or the nature of
    29        the demonstration or anything at all that happened during
    30        the demonstration, or the reasons why Mr. Carroll was
    31        there, or anything of that kind.
    32
    33   MS. STEEL:  Or about whether legal proceedings ------
    34
    35   MR. RAMPTON:  No, it has nothing to do with legal proceedings
    36        and I decline to answer any more of Ms. Steel's questions.
    37
    38                                RULING
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  My ruling is that I have no reason to suppose
    41        that what was blanked out is relevant to any issue in the
    42        case, and you must not ask any further question about it.
    43
    44   MS. STEEL:   If I could just -----
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Nor must Mr. Morris in due course.
    47
    48   MS. STEEL:   If we could hold on, please, because I have not
    49        finished.  I would like to point out that the blanking out
    50        restarts half way through a sentence which says, "The 
    51        demonstration dispersed at about 6.30 p.m."  I do not know 
    52        what else that could be about.  There is also a part in the 
    53        middle which I do not understand why it has been blanked
    54        out which says, "Their ring leader appeared to be Paul
    55        Gravett, aged about 20 to 25, 5 foot 4, thin build; cropped
    56        hair".  Then it is blanked out.  Then it says, "He was
    57        accompanied by Helen Steel", blah-di-blah-di-blah, and was
    58        that about somebody else or was that about Mr. Gravett?
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I am sorry, before I gave the ruling
 
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