Day 285 - 23 Oct 96 - Page 03
1 order, and I did not last night have any time to prepare,
2 for domestic reasons, and that is all. But I will do my
3 best.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am sorry, it is pointless to have an
6 argument over it. You have said that several times and I
7 am afraid I just do not accept it. I do not accept that
8 you are exhausted and I do not accept that you have not
9 had time to prepare.
10
11 MR. MORRIS: It is a fact. I am prepared to go into the
12 witness box.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There is no point keeping saying it. I am
15 not impressed by it. But it does not matter whether I am
16 impressed by it or not, you must do your best and you must
17 try and help me by giving references.
18
19 MS. STEEL: We are trying, but it is the reality of the
20 situation that we are both exhausted. We are completely
21 overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork in this case.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Quite frankly, if you had used something
24 like two of the three months I gave you to begin working
25 through this case, you would certainly have been highly
26 organised with regard to damage to the environment. It
27 might have been, if there is truth in what you say, that
28 as you went on through the case you would be less well
29 prepared, but I cannot understand why, starting off with
30 the very first topics you have to address me, in the first
31 few days of six weeks, after a three month gap through the
32 summer, you can keep saying 'I am not prepared'.
33
34 MR. MORRIS: Well, I appreciate that you cannot understand it,
35 but it is just a fact, and, you know, we are just carrying
36 on the best we can.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have got the six weeks to do your
39 submissions. You must press on and do your best during
40 that period of time. If you can possibly give me
41 references to bundles, you must do that. I am sure you
42 want my decision as soon as possible when you end your
43 submissions and Mr. Rampton has given his. I am afraid
44 all the parties are going to have to wait some time while
45 I write them. It is just longer still if I have to find
46 all the references for myself, either then or working
47 overnight or at weekends on it during your submissions.
48 So carry on now and bear in mind that in trying to assist
49 me you are trying to assist yourselves.
50
51 MR. MORRIS: Well, I did deliberately look out the references
52 you asked for yesterday and Jim Nations' statement --
53 sorry, his article which he verified in a Civil
54 Evidence Act notice that he stood by, on page 18 of his
55 article as printed in the magazine 'Environment' April
56 1983, because there were a number of different versions,
57 I think, that have been looked at at some time or other,
58 do exist in the file somewhere, but that one should be
59 behind his statement.
60
