Day 085 - 08 Feb 95 - Page 03
1 I am not happy that in so far as the cross-examination of
2 Mr. Bowes is divided up at all between Ms. Steel and
3 Mr. Morris it should continue in her absence.
4
5 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, may I reserve my position on that? I am
6 not necessarily dissenting from what your Lordship says.
7 In any case I am subject to whatever course your Lordship
8 decides to take. I have a reservation about it. It arises
9 out of the suspicion I have -- I put it no higher than that
10 -- about this particular funeral. I am not disputing that
11 the person concerned, if it is who I think it is, is a
12 friend of Ms. Steel in any way at all. But I do want to
13 reserve my position about that. I would invite your
14 Lordship not to make a decision about it at the moment, but
15 to see how we get on on Monday, how much is left at the end
16 of Monday. I am not saying Ms. Steel should be persuaded
17 to remain here on Tuesday or anything like that. I do not
18 believe your Lordship has the power to do that anyway.
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have an idea what the funeral might be.
21 I did not even ask Ms. Steel to say that it was a friend
22 but she has said that. In no way am I going to ask her any
23 further questions about it. That is quite enough for me,
24 that she wishes to attend the funeral of a friend. That is
25 the end of it, as far as I am concerned.
26
27 The next question is that if the witness who will be giving
28 evidence on that day is a witness who is giving evidence on
29 a topic with which she has a particular concern, I do not
30 think we should go ahead with that witness' evidence on the
31 day. If there is something else which can be done on the
32 day and, obviously, particularly if Ms. Steel agrees it
33 should be done in her absence on the day, well and good,
34 but that is another consideration which has not reared its
35 head at the moment.
36
37 MR. RAMPTON: All I had in mind was this -- it is not an
38 invitation for Ms. Steel to expand upon cross-examination
39 but, rather, on the contrary, to make it as economical,
40 which is often more effective anyway as she can -- if it
41 happened by 4.15 or even 4.30 on Monday Mr. Bowes was very
42 nearly finished -- as your Lordship will observe, I hardly
43 ask any questions, if any at all, in re-examination -- then
44 I would simply like to reserve my position in case I have a
45 submission to make about what I would invite your Lordship
46 to do.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I will certainly keep the door open to that
49 extent. If that were the position, for all I know
50 Ms. Steel would say: "Well, I am happy it should be
51 completed in my absence", I just do not know. But save for
52 that very small rider .....
53
54 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, several possibilities occur. Your
55 Lordship might be inclined to sit a little late that day to
56 finish Mr. Bowes. Alternatively -- I do not know what time
57 funeral is to be -- maybe sit earlier on the Tuesday
58 morning and finish him and then Ms. Steel can go. What
59 I am concerned about, obviously, is that it should not
60 happen yet again -- I am not saying it is anybody's fault
