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Crown Court: the gripping courtroom drama from the 1970s and 1980s.
Wealthy American Daniel Wolff, who has been previously investigated but not charged by the FBI for suspected drug-dealing, is charged with the attempted murder of scientist Edgar Dryden. Watch out for The Crowman (or Catweazle) himself, Geoffrey Bayldon as Edgar Dryden.
Wealthy American Daniel Wolff, who has been previously investigated but not charged by the FBI for suspected drug-dealing, is charged with the attempted murder of scientist Edgar Dryden. Watch out for The Crowman (or Catweazle) himself, Geoffrey Bayldon as Edgar Dryden.
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00:05:59and the late Harry J.
00:06:57Gary Powers incident
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00:08:53Mr.
00:09:23Mr.
00:09:37Mr.
00:09:38Mr.
00:09:39Mr.
00:10:09Mr.
00:10:10Mr.
00:10:39Mr.
00:10:46Mr.
00:10:59Mr.
00:11:00Mr.
00:11:05Yes, in 1959, I decided to devote the rest of my life
00:11:13in helping to stamp out the obscene traffic in narcotics.
00:11:18Because in 1959, my 18-year-old daughter
00:11:24died a horrible death in New York from heroin addiction.
00:11:30The End
00:11:42About half a million dollars, but the grant comes up for review again next year.
00:11:46Why did you transfer your research to this country?
00:11:50It's much cheaper to run a tracking station over here.
00:11:54Besides, with a polar orbit satellite, it can be located anywhere in the world.
00:11:59But were there other reasons for using this country?
00:12:03Yes, but they now seem rather silly.
00:12:06Yes, counsel seems to think they're important, so I think we'd better hear them, Mr Dryden.
00:12:11It seems I was somewhat accident-prone in the United States.
00:12:15You mean that while you were in the United States there had been several other attempts upon your life?
00:12:20I wouldn't go so far as to say that.
00:12:22Really? But the Federal Bureau of Narcotics said so. They went even further.
00:12:27Exhibit one, my lord.
00:12:28A statement from the head of the Narcotics Bureau.
00:12:32My learned friend has seen a document.
00:12:39Now the person who made this statement, is he going to be called as a witness?
00:12:44No, my lord.
00:12:45I have seen the document, my lord, and as it appears to have no bearing on the charge facing my
00:12:49client, I have no objection to it being introduced under the Criminal Justice Act.
00:12:54Very well, Mr Logan.
00:12:56Thank you, my lord.
00:13:04Now between 1966 and 1970 there were six attempts on the life of the British scientist Edgar Dryden.
00:13:11Mr Dryden is working on a special project for this bureau which will, if successful, make a significant contribution to
00:13:17stemming or maybe halting altogether the flow of illicit hard drugs into the United States.
00:13:23Following the second abortive attempt on Mr Dryden's life, I detailed two officers to maintain a 24-hour watch on
00:13:30his movements.
00:13:31These men thwarted four further moves against Mr Dryden.
00:13:35In my opinion, Mr Dryden should be persuaded to transfer his operations to a military base where he will be
00:13:41free from outside interference.
00:13:42And it's signed by the head of the Narcotics Bureau, my lord.
00:13:45You knew of these previous attempts on your life?
00:13:48Yes, but I refused to be made virtually a prisoner at Edwards Air Force Base.
00:13:52That was another reason for my transfer to this country.
00:13:55Anyway, the Americans always over-dramatize everything.
00:13:58Well, six assassination attempts are not something to be played down, Mr Dryden.
00:14:02With one exception, they could all have been accidents.
00:14:05What was the exception?
00:14:07A Cadillac tried to run me down.
00:14:10I managed to jump aside, it mounted the pavement, ran into a hydrant, backed and drove off.
00:14:16So, in 1970, you returned to this country and took over the offshore forts of Little Talon and Great Talon?
00:14:24Yes, they suited me because, being a few miles off the coast, they were relatively free from electrical interference.
00:14:31It had nothing to do with safety.
00:14:33I know those forts.
00:14:35The large one has a radar scanner on the top of a concrete tower.
00:14:39Yes, my lord.
00:14:39That's my parabolic dish for receiving photographs from the Tyros satellite.
00:14:43Did you purchase the forts?
00:14:45No, my solicitor in Fullchester couldn't trace the owner.
00:14:47So you occupied them rent-free?
00:14:51Yes.
00:14:51You see, they were built during the Napoleonic War to guard the approach channels to Rockley Hard,
00:14:58which in those days was a busy port and shipbuilding centre.
00:15:01I see.
00:15:02Do you use both forts, Mr Dryden?
00:15:05No.
00:15:06Little Talon's too small, but Great Talon has the concrete tower and several outbuildings that the Observer Corps put up
00:15:12during the war.
00:15:13Does shipping ever come near the forts?
00:15:15No, they're surrounded by sandbanks which are constantly shifting.
00:15:19Two hundred years ago the forts were either side of the main channel, but it's all silted up now.
00:15:24It's only safe for shallow draft vessels.
00:15:27Such as the motor yacht Rasputin owned by the accused?
00:15:30Oh, my lord, my lone friend is constantly putting leading questions to this.
00:15:34Quite right, Mr Golding.
00:15:36My lord, I didn't appreciate there would be any dispute over this.
00:15:39I shall be producing evidence to show that the motor yacht Rasputin owned by the accused did in fact spend
00:15:45twelve hours moored near Little Talon on the 3rd of October, the day before the attempt on Mr Dryden's line.
00:15:51Well, you'd better get on with it then.
00:15:54Yes, my lord.
00:15:56Mr Dryden, did you ever see the accused yacht Rasputin near your forts?
00:16:02Yes, for several days before the 3rd they'd been stooging around shooting at sharks.
00:16:08They usually had a few hanging from the transom.
00:16:11Was there any attempt to land on Great Talon?
00:16:14Yes, but I always managed to scare them off by threatening them with distress rockets.
00:16:18I wasn't keen to meet the owner.
00:16:21And did you ever see the accused yacht visit the other fort, that is, Little Talon?
00:16:25Yes, on the afternoon of the 3rd as I was climbing the ladder to the tracking room.
00:16:29The iron ladder set into the outside of the concrete tower?
00:16:32Yes.
00:16:33How often do you climb that ladder?
00:16:34Once a day.
00:16:35And when you saw the yacht Rasputin stooging around, did you form the impression that you were being watched?
00:16:41Yes, Mr Logan, you really must confine yourself to what the witness saw and heard, not what he thought.
00:16:47Yes, my lord, I have no more questions.
00:16:51Mr Dryden, does your research suggest that opium is being grown in Soviet bloc countries?
00:16:58Yes.
00:16:58Yes, and you tell us that your work is a threat to the world's illicit drugs industry
00:17:02because you can pinpoint possible opium fields to be photographed by the Skylab Astral.
00:17:07Yes.
00:17:08Mr Dryden, the Skylab program is finished. No further Skylab missions are planned.
00:17:14There's an Apollo orbital mission later this year on July the 25th.
00:17:19Oh yes, the Apollo-Soyuz test program when Russian and American spacecraft will link up in orbit around the Earth.
00:17:25Yes.
00:17:26Do you really think it likely that NASA will agree to their astronauts taking pictures of Soviet bloc countries
00:17:31with Russian cosmonauts looking over their shoulders?
00:17:34Skylab photographs are only to back up my own findings.
00:17:39Besides, the Skylab is still in orbit. It could still be used.
00:17:44But hardly likely, Mr Dryden.
00:17:46Hmm?
00:17:49No, I suppose not.
00:17:51No.
00:17:51Now, you saw my client's yacht Rasputin moored to Little Tallinn on the 3rd of October.
00:17:56What time did it leave?
00:17:58Four in the afternoon.
00:17:59And what other boats moored there that day?
00:18:01Only Rasputin.
00:18:02You kept watch at night?
00:18:04No.
00:18:05Then how do you know another boat or boats did not visit Little Tallinn during the night?
00:18:09I should have heard the engines.
00:18:10On a sailing boat?
00:18:11But I've already told you the area around the forts is shallow.
00:18:18Sailing vessels have a deep keel.
00:18:20If you knew anything about sailing boats, Mr Dryden, you would also know that many of them have keels
00:18:24which can be taken up into the centre box so that they can navigate in shallow water.
00:18:32So, you cannot be certain that Rasputin was the only boat to visit Little Tallinn on the day before this
00:18:37so-called attempt on your life.
00:18:40Now, this picture we have of you, Mr Dryden, of a dedicated scientist working in splendid isolation to avenge the
00:18:45death of his daughter,
00:18:46it's a rather dramatic picture, don't you think?
00:18:49Tracking stations have to be in remote areas.
00:18:52The only sound is the endless cry of seabirds born on the wind.
00:18:58And the relentless eternal thunder of the sea as it beats against that pinnacle of knowledge
00:19:03where knowledge and the frontiers of that knowledge are being pushed ever outward.
00:19:10They're your words?
00:19:12No, Mr Dryden. They're the words of your New York publicity agent.
00:19:17Do you employ a publicity agent, Mr Dryden?
00:19:21A press agent, my lord.
00:19:23Is it usual for a scientist to employ one?
00:19:26Not so much in this country.
00:19:28It doesn't fit, does it, Mr Dryden?
00:19:30We have this picture of you as a man who shuns publicity,
00:19:32and now we learn that you actually employ a man to make sure that you get it.
00:19:38And very successful he is too.
00:19:40Several appearances on American TV chat shows, lecture tours.
00:19:46One cannot help wondering why you spend so much of your precious time,
00:19:49well, on such things.
00:19:52Publicity can help.
00:19:54Especially in your case, yes?
00:19:56I don't know what you mean.
00:19:57Don't you?
00:19:59Well, you mentioned your grant which comes up for review next year.
00:20:02Isn't it so that you received advance warning on the form that that review will take?
00:20:07Yes.
00:20:08That your grant will be cut?
00:20:10Yes.
00:20:11Completely?
00:20:11Yes, the United States government are trying to cut down on their expenditure.
00:20:15On unnecessary expenditure?
00:20:16My work is essential.
00:20:18Well, it's important for you and your publicity agent to convince...
00:20:21Press agent.
00:20:23For you and your press agent to convince as many people as possible that it's essential, yes?
00:20:28It could help.
00:20:30Yes.
00:20:31Didn't you write to your publicity agent and...
00:20:34Press agent.
00:20:35As you wish.
00:20:37Press agent.
00:20:38Didn't you write to him some months ago and to quote your own words,
00:20:41ask him to pull out all stops?
00:20:44Yes.
00:20:45Yes, well, he's certainly done so over the past few weeks with this case, hasn't he?
00:20:49Virtually every major American newspaper has carried the story of the British scientist
00:20:54whose life was threatened by the drug syndicate.
00:20:57Would you say that this publicity has been useful, Mr. Dryden?
00:20:59Oh, my lord.
00:21:00Not only does the question call for conjecture on the part of the witness,
00:21:03but it is also immaterial whether or not the publicity was useful.
00:21:06No, Mr. Logan.
00:21:07As Mr. Dryden has admitted that he employed an agent, it seems reasonable to suppose that he could judge whether
00:21:14that publicity was useful.
00:21:17Was it useful?
00:21:18I suppose so.
00:21:20There is no suppose about it.
00:21:22Was it useful?
00:21:23Yes.
00:21:53Yes.
00:21:54If I wanted such a thing, I could have made it, but it wouldn't have occurred to me otherwise.
00:21:59Yes, as we seem to be dwelling on this method of assassination, I think it is high time it was
00:22:04explained to me and to the jury.
00:22:06Yes.
00:22:06It is my intention to introduce it as soon as possible, my lord, if your lordship would consider sitting in
00:22:10camera.
00:22:12Yes. Well, having studied the depositions, I think I understand your reasons for such a request.
00:22:18However, the public has a right to know and to be fully informed of the dangers of technology in the
00:22:24wrong hands.
00:22:24and there seems to be no state security about it.
00:22:30Accordingly, I reject your application.
00:22:32As your lordship pleases.
00:22:35Now, do you have any more questions of this witness, Mr. Golding?
00:22:38No, my lord, thank you.
00:22:40I have no re-examination, my lord.
00:22:43Thank you, Mr. Dryden.
00:22:47Now then, Mr. Logan, what about this equipment?
00:22:51Yes, my lord, would you bring the trolley in, please?
00:23:17Mr. Logan, my lord, what is this?
00:23:24This rifle and this TV camera were found by the police on Little Talon Fort.
00:23:32The rifle was trained on the iron ladder used every day by Edgar Dryden.
00:23:37And the accused, Daniel Wolfe, hoped to kill him at a distance of several miles from the safety of his
00:23:44yacht.
00:23:45Murder by television.
00:24:03The case of the Queen against Wolfe will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:24:37He's been able to kill him at a time by Hassan St.
00:24:46Daniel Wolfe, a wealthy American with business connections in the American drug syndicate,
00:24:52is charged with the attempted murder of Edgar Dryden, a brilliant British scientist who's
00:24:57developed a technique to trace opium poppy fields by means of aerial photography from
00:25:02artificial satellites. He prefers to work alone, spending most of his time in his satellite
00:25:08tracking station on Great Talon, an offshore fort built during the Napoleonic Wars. Daniel
00:25:15Wolfe has been in trouble before with the FBI and various state authorities, but his wealth,
00:25:21brains and attorneys have kept him out of the American courts. Now for the first time he's in
00:25:27a British court, a minor irritation and only a matter of time before he's released and allowed
00:25:32to return to his luxury motor yacht, Rasputin. Or so he believes.
00:25:39What is your religion?
00:25:40British Baptist.
00:25:41Take the Bible in your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
00:25:45I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth
00:25:48and nothing but the truth.
00:25:50You are Dennis Gill and you live at 14 Tennyson Avenue, Fulchester?
00:25:55Yes.
00:25:56And you're a senior engineer with the Independent Broadcasting Authority, Mr. Gill?
00:26:00Yes.
00:26:01Now would you tell the court in your own words the events of the 4th of October of last year?
00:26:05Yes.
00:26:06At that time I was out in a site survey van, receiving test pictures on a new IBA relay station.
00:26:13By relay station you mean a television transmitter?
00:26:15That's right.
00:26:16A new UHF colour transmitter on Warmsey Down.
00:26:18Yet I thought the whole of the country was covered by television by now.
00:26:22Oh, not with colour though.
00:26:23With the old black and white 405 line system, we could virtually cover the whole country with
00:26:27only 47 transmitters.
00:26:29With the new 625 line colour signal, it's not so obliging.
00:26:33There's no swirling effect, no filling in behind hills.
00:26:37Therefore, we need many more stations.
00:26:40Uh, look, I'll show you.
00:26:51They're the old 405 line transmitters, 47 of them.
00:26:56And these are the new colour transmitters, 150 of them.
00:27:00We are going to need 450 to cover the country.
00:27:03We're opening new stations at the rate of one a week.
00:27:05I see.
00:27:07So commercial television companies do not actually transmit their own programme.
00:27:11Oh, no, sir.
00:27:12Transmission of ITV programmes is an IBA responsibility.
00:27:16Oh, I see.
00:27:22I'm, uh, I'm sorry, Mr. Logan.
00:27:24I seem to be leading Mr. Gill astray.
00:27:28Would you describe your sight survey van, Mr. Gill?
00:27:31Well, basically, it's a 20 hundredweight Bedford van fitted with television receiving equipment.
00:27:37There's a steerable aerial on the roof which can be rotated from the inside so that it's pointed at the
00:27:42transmitter.
00:27:42And what is the purpose of this van?
00:27:44When a new transmitter opens, we tour the area to assess picture and sound quality.
00:27:50The aerial can be extended to a height of 30 feet, the probable height of a domestic aerial when it's
00:27:56mounted on the rooftops.
00:27:58Whenever we show up, people think that we're the GPO detector van.
00:28:02They all rush off to buy their licences.
00:28:05So, at 10 a.m. on the 4th of October, you drove out with your van to the Wormsy Coast
00:28:10Road to carry out such a test.
00:28:11Is that correct?
00:28:12Yes.
00:28:14There's a new housing estate planned for the area.
00:28:16So, I parked the van and switched on the television receiving equipment.
00:28:20As I was tuning into channel 49, that's the channel of the new one, I picked up a signal on
00:28:27channel 65.
00:28:28You received a picture?
00:28:30Yes.
00:28:30Will you describe that picture, please?
00:28:32Well, it was a very weak signal to begin with, so I rotated the aerial until it became stronger.
00:28:38It was a picture of an iron ladder set into a wall.
00:28:43Superimposed on the picture was a T-shape, rather like the sights on a rifle.
00:28:48Well, that was odd enough, but what was even odder was that the signal was being received on channel 65.
00:28:54Why should that be unusual?
00:28:56Well, we don't use that channel, neither does the BBC.
00:28:59It's reserved for a fourth television channel that we'd like to have in the future.
00:29:03So, what did you do next?
00:29:05I got out of the van and checked the aerial alignment.
00:29:08To see where it was pointing?
00:29:10Yes.
00:29:11And where was it pointing?
00:29:12At Little Tallon Fort, about three miles out to sea and a little way down the coast from where I
00:29:16was.
00:29:17So, I drove the van a few miles and took another reading.
00:29:22Again, maximum signal strength was picked up when it was pointing at Little Tallon.
00:29:26Could you see the fort?
00:29:27Oh, yes, it was a clear day.
00:29:29Well, I telephoned Fulchester CID and told him that someone was making illegal television transmission from Little Tallon Fort.
00:29:36Did you describe the picture?
00:29:37Yes.
00:29:38I spoke to Superintendent Walker.
00:29:41He told me to stay where I was for the time being.
00:29:43So, I waited there for about an hour, then a police car came and picked me up and took me
00:29:47to Rockley Hard.
00:29:49From there I went by boat to Little Tallon.
00:29:51And Mr. Walker was waiting for me.
00:29:54He wanted me to examine their equipment.
00:29:56And where was that equipment?
00:29:59It was set up in an old shed over a looking great Tallon Fort.
00:30:02Will you look at the equipment in the court, please, Mr. Gill?
00:30:05Very well, Mr. Gill.
00:30:06You may leave the witness box.
00:30:15Are you familiar with such items?
00:30:17All except the rifle.
00:30:19And are these the pieces of equipment that you saw on Little Tallon?
00:30:23Yes.
00:30:24Yes.
00:30:24Would you describe their functions to the court, please?
00:30:26Well, this, as you can see, is a rifle.
00:30:30These are telescopic sights.
00:30:33This is a miniature television camera whose lens is attached to the rifle sights.
00:30:39The picture signal is fed along this cable here to this amplifier and transmitter here.
00:30:47From here, it's transmitted by this antenna.
00:30:51It looks like an ordinary television aerial to me.
00:30:54Oh, it is, sir.
00:30:55But a television aerial can also be used to transmit pictures as well as to receive them.
00:31:01And where was this aerial mounted when you first saw it?
00:31:04Outside the shed.
00:31:07The wood was rotten, and part of the bracket had been torn away, probably by the wind,
00:31:12so that the aerial, instead of transmitting pictures out to sea as it would have done in its original position,
00:31:17was actually transmitting pictures down the coast.
00:31:22And what about this little gadget here attached to the trigger on the rifle?
00:31:26Now, that's an actuator, the type that's used in radio-controlled model aircraft to work the elevators and rudders.
00:31:32Which, in this case, could be used to pull the trigger on the rifle?
00:31:35Yes, if you had a transmitter for a radio-controlled model aircraft.
00:31:39Such as this, Exhibit 6, my lord, the model aircraft transmitter found on board the accused yacht when she was
00:31:46arrested by the Royal Navy.
00:31:47Yes, pressing this button would operate the trigger.
00:31:51I see.
00:31:51And how far off could one be from this rifle with that gadget and still operate the trigger?
00:31:56Or anything up to 20 miles overseas.
00:31:59And what is the maximum range of that transmitter?
00:32:02About the same.
00:32:03Mr. Gill, that equipment seems rather small for a television transmitter.
00:32:07Well, you get them even smaller nowadays, sir.
00:32:09And as it has to transmit a very narrow beam, it doesn't have to be very powerful.
00:32:14Presumably it needs electricity. Is there a main supply on the fort?
00:32:18This is a rechargeable battery.
00:32:21Its output is sufficient to operate both the camera and the transmitter for at least 20 hours.
00:32:27Yes. Was everything switched on when you examined it?
00:32:30Oh, yes. The whole system was active.
00:32:33So, Mr. Gill, with a radio-controlled transmitter such as that, it would be possible to fire this rifle from
00:32:39anything up to 20 miles away at whatever it happened to be aimed at?
00:32:43Providing you had a television receiver capable of picking up the signal being transmitted.
00:32:47Such as this portable television set found on board the accused's yacht. That's Exhibit 7, my lord.
00:32:52Yes.
00:32:53Yes, Mr. Gill, would you be kind enough to tune this set into Channel 65?
00:33:19Now, members of the jury.
00:33:21That picture you see there is being transmitted by this camera attached to this rifle.
00:33:27Just as the picture of the iron ladder, habitually used by Edgar Dryden, was transmitted with the same equipment on
00:33:33Little Tallon on the 4th of October.
00:33:36Thank you, Mr. Gill.
00:33:38Will you return to the witness box, please?
00:33:46Thank you, Mr. Gill.
00:33:50Yes, I have no more questions, my lord.
00:33:52Go on.
00:33:52That's actually...
00:33:53That's what you want to...
00:33:54Golding.
00:33:56Yes, I'm sorry, my lord.
00:33:58Mr. Turner was explaining a surreptitious note to me.
00:34:03Mr. Gill, although you can pinpoint the exact spot where television transmissions originate,
00:34:09you cannot tell where a television set is used to receive these transmissions.
00:34:14Not with my equipment.
00:34:16No, so anyone within a 20-mile radius could have received that picture.
00:34:20No, I only received the picture because I was on the edge of the beam.
00:34:23I doubt if anyone else on the mainland would have received it.
00:34:26Yes, but you only doubt.
00:34:27You're not positive.
00:34:28Well, there might have been a stray signal, but...
00:34:30Exactly, yes.
00:34:31Thank you, Mr. Gill.
00:34:32And does your lordship have any questions?
00:34:34No, thank you.
00:34:35Thank you, Mr. Gill.
00:34:36I now call...
00:34:37Just a moment, Mr. Logan.
00:34:38Mr. Gill, it appears that you may have saved Mr. Dryden's life.
00:34:42Well, it's a matter of luck, really.
00:34:44Yes, very lucky for Mr. Dryden that you happen to be about on October the 4th.
00:34:48Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Gill.
00:34:52I now call Superintendent Walker of Fulchester C.I.D.
00:34:56Superintendent Walker, please.
00:35:38at 10 45 a.m. on the 4th of October
00:35:41my office received a telephone call from an IBA engineer
00:35:45Mr. Dennis Gill who claimed to be receiving a television picture from the
00:35:50Little Tallon Fort. And did you know of Edgar Dryden's research activities on
00:35:54Great Tallon? Yes I did. And what was your reaction to the call from
00:35:57Dennis Gill? I was extremely worried as I know the nature of Mr. Dryden's
00:36:01research. I immediately contacted the pilot's office on Rockley Hard and asked
00:36:07them to prepare a boat to take me and two of my men out to Little Tallon.
00:36:11I was there 45 minutes later. And what did you find on Little Tallon?
00:36:15The gear there on the trolley. Yes you may leave the box
00:36:19superintendent to examine the exhibit. Thank you my lord.
00:36:29Is it set up now as you found it? Yes except that
00:36:36this television aerial was then fixed up outside the shed and I noted that the
00:36:42mounting bracket had been torn away from the woodwork. And what was the rifle aimed at?
00:36:47It was aimed at an iron ladder set against the tower on Great Tallon 450 yards away.
00:36:53Had the rifle been fired? No and I made certain that it would not be.
00:36:57Ah what did you do? Without disturbing the rifle's aim I opened the breech like so and removed
00:37:10this bullet. So now the rifle was harmless and what did you do next?
00:37:17I remained beside the rifle and gave instructions that the motor yacht Rasputin was to be arrested
00:37:24immediately. The coast guard, the Rockley Hard harbour master and the Royal Navy fisheries protection
00:37:30people had all been keeping a close watch on that vessel's movements on my behalf since the week
00:37:36previous and reporting back to my office. When was the last such report?
00:37:418 a.m. that same morning. My information was that the Rasputin had bunkered with 30 tons of diesel fuel,
00:37:493,000 gallons of fresh water, paid her harbour dues and left Rockley Hard.
00:37:54And did you issue any other instructions? Yes I arranged for the IBA engineer Dennis Gill to be
00:38:00brought out to Little Tallon. I wanted him to have a look at this slot.
00:38:04And what did you do then? I still remained standing by the rifle as I am now
00:38:08and kept watch on the ladder on Great Talon through my binoculars. At ten minutes past noon,
00:38:15Mr. Dryden emerged from his quarters and began to climb the ladder. I then bent down and looked at
00:38:21the rifle's sighting through the camera viewfinder. The crossed hairs of the telescopic sight were aimed
00:38:30at a point halfway up the ladder. And just as Mr. Dryden's head coincided with the crossed hairs,
00:38:36there was a buzzing sound, and the rifle's trigger actuated with a loud click.
00:38:42Like this?
00:38:46Exactly.
00:38:48So, you had the unique experience of looking through the sights of a rifle
00:38:52at the precise moment when it was used in an attempt to kill someone?
00:38:56Yes.
00:38:57And what would have happened had you not removed that bullet?
00:39:00Mr. Dryden would be dead.
00:39:02Oh, my lord, the witness cannot be allowed to speculate in this way. There's the question of wind reflection.
00:39:05My lord, that bullet would have killed Mr. Dryden. There was no wind.
00:39:11And furthermore, when we checked the rifle afterwards, we found that the sights had been zeroed at 450 yards,
00:39:19the exact distance between the rifle and the ladder.
00:39:23And what was the exact time the trigger went off?
00:39:26Eleven minutes past noon.
00:39:28And at two that afternoon, I went aboard the Rasputin, which the Royal Navy had escorted back to Rockley Harp.
00:39:35And I there arrested the owner, Daniel Wolfe.
00:39:38And what else did you do?
00:39:39I searched the vessel and took away two pieces of equipment.
00:39:43One, a radio-controlled transmitter, the type used for model aircraft,
00:39:48and two, a portable television receiver.
00:39:50Would you examine Exhibits 6 and 7, please, on the clerk's desk?
00:39:56Are those the items you saw on Rasputin?
00:39:58Yes.
00:40:01Thank you, Superintendent. You may return to the witness box.
00:40:10Now, what was the result of the tests you made on those items?
00:40:14We found that the portable television set was capable of receiving a picture from the camera on Little Teller.
00:40:22We also found that pressing a button on the radio control gadget operated the trigger of the rifle, as you
00:40:29have just demonstrated.
00:40:30And where on the yacht were they found?
00:40:32In the owner's stateroom.
00:40:33Thank you, Superintendent.
00:40:36Superintendent, would you say that the Rasputin is a luxury yacht?
00:40:40Yes, very luxurious.
00:40:42Besides those items you removed, did you notice any other pieces of equipment in the stateroom?
00:40:48There was a display panel which indicated the vessel's course and speed.
00:40:52And hi-fi equipment?
00:40:54Yes, there was a tape outfit with a couple of large speakers.
00:40:59The kind of equipment, in fact, you would expect to find, reasonably expect to find, in the stateroom of a
00:41:05luxury yacht?
00:41:06Yes.
00:41:07And a portable television would come into the same category, would it not?
00:41:11It was not a fixture.
00:41:13Everything else was properly installed.
00:41:16And then there was the radio control gadget for model aircraft.
00:41:19Ah, yes. Did you ask the accused why he was in possession of such a gadget?
00:41:23No.
00:41:25You never asked my client if he was interested in model aircraft?
00:41:28Well, we didn't find any when we searched the vessel.
00:41:31Oh, but that doesn't mean to say he's not interested in them, does it?
00:41:34No.
00:41:35No.
00:41:37Now, you mentioned that you'd been keeping watch on the Rasputin for some time before this alleged offence took place,
00:41:42yet neither you nor my learned friend have seen fit to produce evidence as to why you did so.
00:41:47Now, is this another secret, Superintendent?
00:41:50The Rasputin is not the type of yacht that normally visits these parts.
00:41:54Rock, er, the Solent, or Torbay, but not around here.
00:41:59Sir, you had it watched on a whim?
00:42:01If you like.
00:42:03No, I do not like.
00:42:04It is quite wrong that visitors to this country, such as Mr. Wolfe,
00:42:07should be subjected to police surveillance as the result of a whim of a senior officer.
00:42:15Does your lordship have any questions?
00:42:16No, thank you.
00:42:17I call Lieutenant Scott Temple.
00:42:22What is your religion?
00:42:24Church of England.
00:42:25Take the Bible in your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
00:42:28I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
00:42:33but the truth.
00:42:36Lieutenant Scott Temple, are you the commanding officer of the torpedo gunboat Brave Huntsman?
00:42:41Yes.
00:42:43Would you describe to the court the events in the morning and early afternoon of the 4th of October of
00:42:48last year?
00:42:49Yes.
00:42:50On that day, Huntsman was at Rockley Hard, where she was undergoing a floating refit.
00:42:55She'd been there about a week.
00:42:57A floating refit?
00:42:59Yes.
00:42:59Her various deck fittings had been removed for renewal and overhaul.
00:43:03The sort of thing that can be done without the expense of putting in dry dock.
00:43:07Nevertheless, Brave Huntsman was seaworthy.
00:43:09Oh, yes.
00:43:10Provider visibility was good.
00:43:11We'd already put to sea the day before to run some acceptance tests on her new hydraulic throttle controls.
00:43:17Yes.
00:43:17And what happened on the 4th of October?
00:43:20Well, at 11.50, I received a signal from the police via the Captain of Fisheries Protection to put to
00:43:26sea to nab a yacht they were after.
00:43:28A rather splendid American affair, which we'd been admiring all week, called Rasputin.
00:43:33She had the silhouette of a monk on her transom.
00:43:36Yes.
00:43:36Quite.
00:43:36What time did you put to sea?
00:43:38At 1.200.
00:43:38It took me 10 minutes to muster a skeleton.
00:43:41You were told that it was important that the yacht should be apprehended as soon as possible.
00:43:44Oh, yes.
00:43:45We turfed the dockyard workmen off Huntsman and shot out of Rockley Hard like a champagne cork.
00:43:51Fisheries Protection gave us Rasputin's last known position as we left harbour.
00:43:55And about 10 minutes later, my coxswain spotted her about six miles down the coast on our port beam.
00:44:01He saw her on the radar?
00:44:03No, he was lookout.
00:44:04The radar had been removed for the refit.
00:44:07I doubt very much whether Huntsman would have been used if the visibility had been bad,
00:44:11but it's always the same with Fisheries Protection work.
00:44:14They call on anything afloat if the frigate's not around.
00:44:17What did you do when you spotted Rasputin?
00:44:19I headed out to sea, having ordered full speed ahead,
00:44:23so that I could turn round and head her off in case she tried to run for open water.
00:44:27And what did Rasputin do when she saw you coming?
00:44:30Well, she did just that.
00:44:31Ran for open water.
00:44:33We tried everything to stop her.
00:44:36Flags, slow Morse by Wool, just lamb telling her to heave to.
00:44:40And we even tried calling her on the ship to ship our tea,
00:44:43but either she wasn't listening or was ignoring us.
00:44:46Then she piled on about 20 knots,
00:44:49which didn't do her much good as we could do 52,
00:44:51and in the end I tried running alongside her
00:44:54and bellowing at her bridge with the loud halo.
00:44:57Couldn't you have fired a shot across a bow?
00:44:59Well, that sort of thing went out years ago,
00:45:01but I might have been tempted to do so had I had a gun.
00:45:05It had been unshipped for the refit.
00:45:07But she heaved to eventually.
00:45:09Oh, yes.
00:45:09One of the ABs managed to drop her horse over a stern post.
00:45:12Damn near pulled her transom off.
00:45:14I stopped engines.
00:45:19Then I shouted to the master
00:45:21and told him that I was quite happy to be towed all over the ocean
00:45:24until he ran out of fuel.
00:45:27Someone leaned over the transom
00:45:29and hurled abuse at us with a megaphone,
00:45:31but we're used to that sort of thing in the Navy.
00:45:34What time did you eventually stop, Rasputin?
00:45:3612.40.
00:45:37And what did you do next?
00:45:40Well, I didn't have much of a crew in terms of numbers,
00:45:43so I decided to go aboard myself with an armed petty officer.
00:45:47We weren't exactly pipes aboard,
00:45:50though I did salute the quarter deck.
00:45:52In fact, we found the crew to be somewhat abusive.
00:45:55We made our way to the bridge to pay our compliments to the captain
00:45:58and to ask him to accompany us back to Rockley Hard.
00:46:03He agreed, having mentioned something about pirates in uniform.
00:46:08And then we asked where the owner was,
00:46:10and he suggested we do something,
00:46:13or at least go somewhere.
00:46:14Well, as I didn't think we'd find him there,
00:46:17we made our way to the owner's stateroom.
00:46:19And who was in there?
00:46:20That gentleman there.
00:46:22He didn't exactly welcome us either.
00:46:25In fact, he has an excellent command of old English expletives.
00:46:29He told me to do something I consider to be physically impossible.
00:46:32Yes, quite.
00:46:33What was he doing?
00:46:35Well, you won't believe this,
00:46:36but he was trying to push a portable television out of a porthole
00:46:40and had got it jammed.
00:47:14The case of the Queen against Wolf
00:47:16will be concluded tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:47:22RELACThis
00:47:22The Golden Hour
00:47:23Silly
00:47:23The Golden Hour
00:47:25TRIOUS
00:47:25O'Rivers
00:47:26TRIOUS
00:47:27The Golden Hour
00:47:42The Golden Hour
00:47:43The Golden Hour
00:48:00On the 4th of October, Daniel Wolfe,
00:48:03a wealthy American involved in illicit drugs trafficking,
00:48:07attempted to murder the British scientist Edgar Dryden,
00:48:10who was perfecting a technique which used pictures taken from satellites
00:48:13to locate areas of the world where opium poppies are grown for the production of heroin.
00:48:19Wolfe's assassination method was ingenious.
00:48:22Dryden's tracking station was set up on a disused offshore fort called Great Talon.
00:48:27Wolfe landed from his yacht Rasputin on Little Talon,
00:48:31the smaller of two offshore forts, 450 yards from Great Talon,
00:48:35and trained a remote-controlled rifle on a ladder used each day by Dryden.
00:48:40With the aid of a miniature television camera attached to the rifle's sights,
00:48:45Wolfe hoped to kill Dryden from the safety of Rasputin many miles out to sea on his way home to
00:48:50America.
00:48:51The plan misfired, and Rasputin was arrested by a Royal Navy torpedo gunboat.
00:48:56Defence Council is cross-examining the commanding officer.
00:49:00I ask you again, Lieutenant Temple,
00:49:02was my client's motor yacht Rasputin in British territorial waters when you arrested him?
00:49:06Yes, but only just. She was about 300 yards from the limit when we stopped her.
00:49:10300 yards? But you said earlier there's always a chance of making an error when fixing your position.
00:49:15Now, can you be certain that you made no error when you arrested the Rasputin?
00:49:19Well, there is a chance of error at sea, but we were hardly at sea.
00:49:22We were only a few thousand yards off a well-marked coast on a clear day.
00:49:26I was able to take accurate cross bearings on known landmarks.
00:49:29Yes, but can you be 100% certain that you made no error when you fixed your bearings to your
00:49:35chart?
00:49:35I made, no mistake.
00:49:37Before we left Rockley Hard, I'd been requested to take particular care when fixing the position where she'd been arrested.
00:49:44Yes, you said some of Brave Huntsman's deck fixtures had been removed by the dockyard.
00:49:48Had any of your navigational equipment also been removed?
00:49:51Yes, the TACAN beacon and Decker navigator, but that's electronic equipment.
00:49:56I didn't need it on such a clear day and being so near the coast.
00:49:59I was able to apply basic chart navigation, the sort of thing we learned during our first year at college.
00:50:04Yes, but even so...
00:50:05That will do, Mr. Golding, you've made your point.
00:50:07The witness is not going to change his account of his position.
00:50:12Now, would you please continue?
00:50:13My Lord, regardless of your position at the time of Rasputin's arrest,
00:50:19were you in territorial waters between noon and 15 minutes past noon?
00:50:25Yes.
00:50:26Did you check her position during these times?
00:50:28Well, I was seawater then and bearing down on her.
00:50:30She tried to run for open water by crossing on my quarter, but she wasn't fast enough.
00:50:36We had her under constant observation from 1210.
00:50:39From her speed position and course, she couldn't possibly have been in international waters at those times.
00:50:44And yet she was close to them at the time of her arrest?
00:50:47Well, yes.
00:50:48Yes.
00:50:49And as you've already admitted that you were carrying a minimum of navigational equipment...
00:50:52I never said anything of the story.
00:50:53No, my Lord, my learned friend is belaboring a non-existent point.
00:50:56Even if it does exist, it's immaterial whether or not...
00:50:58Yes, Mr. Logan.
00:50:59Now, Lieutenant Temple, are you certain that at no time did the Rasputin stray into international waters?
00:51:07Yes, my Lord, I'm absolutely certain.
00:51:10Mr. Golding.
00:51:12Your answer to my learned friend's question suggested that my client's yacht tried to evade a rest.
00:51:17Well, she did.
00:51:17She was doing 22 knots when we caught up with her.
00:51:20That's just about the maximum speed of her hull.
00:51:22The Rasputin's master could not have seen your ensign when you approached her, could he?
00:51:27No, but we called her on the RT.
00:51:30Besides, a naval torpedo gunboat doesn't look like anything but a naval torpedo gunboat.
00:51:35Oh, really?
00:51:35But you said that your gun had been unshipped for the refit.
00:51:38Yes.
00:51:38Yes, and your torpedo tube.
00:51:40Yes.
00:51:40And your ammunition lockers.
00:51:42Yes.
00:51:43Yes, also two chain pipes, a hydraulic winch, two depth charge throwers, and about four square yards of deck plating.
00:51:49You see, I suggest, Lieutenant Temple, that your torpedo gunboat looked like anything but a torpedo gunboat.
00:51:54And that the master of the Rasputin was fully justified in taking evasive action to avoid being run down by
00:52:00what he considered was a maniac in charge of a very fast boat.
00:52:03Well, that's absurd. We ran alongside him for at least five minutes.
00:52:05Yes, I have no more questions, thank you.
00:52:08Does your Lordship have any questions?
00:52:09No, thank you.
00:52:11Thank you, Lieutenant.
00:52:12That concludes the case for the prosecution, my Lord.
00:52:40When you are ready, Mr. Holden.
00:52:43Thank you, my Lord.
00:52:45I call David Chubb.
00:52:47You are not calling your client?
00:52:50No, my Lord.
00:52:52David Chubb, please.
00:52:55David Chubb, please.
00:53:24What is your religion?
00:53:25Church of England.
00:53:26Take the Bible in your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
00:53:29I swear by mighty God, the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
00:53:32the truth.
00:53:34Are you David Chubb of Coast Guard House, Snare Rock Road?
00:53:37Aye.
00:53:38So now you are the Coast Guard Station officer at the Snare Rock Coast Guard Station, Mr. Chubb.
00:53:43Aye.
00:53:44Yes.
00:53:45Now, how long have you been at Coast Guard, Mr. Chubb?
00:53:46Since 45.
00:53:49I've been in it 30 years now.
00:53:52I served as a petty officer on a Corvette in the last lot.
00:53:55Were you on duty at your Coast Guard Station on the 4th of October last year?
00:53:59I was on bell duty till 9, then I went on watch 9 to 1500.
00:54:03Yes, bell duty is...
00:54:04Standby.
00:54:05I see.
00:54:06So you were on duty during the late morning and the early part of the afternoon?
00:54:09Aye.
00:54:10Now, do you have a good view of the coast from your station?
00:54:13Grandstand view.
00:54:13There wouldn't be much point in building a station there if you didn't, would there?
00:54:17No.
00:54:18How far along the coast can you see on a clear day?
00:54:21Right down to Rockley Hard and the Tallon Fort.
00:54:23Yes.
00:54:24Was it clear on the 4th of October?
00:54:26Like crystal.
00:54:27And would you tell the court about anything unusual you saw on that day?
00:54:30Aye.
00:54:31I saw a brave class torpedo gunboat chasing a floating gin palace that the district officer had told us to
00:54:38keep an eye on.
00:54:39Who is the district officer?
00:54:40The old man, my boss.
00:54:41He told me the police were interested in keeping an eye on her.
00:54:44Yes, yes, quite.
00:54:45Now, what happened when the torpedo gunboat chased this gin, this boat?
00:54:50Well, she wasn't fishing, but the Navy had got themselves worked up in a right old state.
00:54:54Thought she was going to ram.
00:54:55What time was this?
00:54:56Uh, 40 afternoon they got the gin palace to heave to.
00:55:01Right old state the Navy were in.
00:55:03You could hear their turbines up in my station.
00:55:05Sound like one of those 707 jets.
00:55:07Yes, indeed.
00:55:08Now, did you have the yacht in view before her arrest?
00:55:12Yeah, followed her right around the coast.
00:55:13We were told to keep an eye on her.
00:55:15I reckon she put out from Rockley Hard.
00:55:17What was the yacht's name?
00:55:19Rasputin.
00:55:19And was she in territorial waters or international waters all the time you saw her?
00:55:26International waters.
00:55:27Just over the limit.
00:55:28All the time.
00:55:32Mr. Chubb.
00:55:33Sir.
00:55:34We have heard in evidence that the Rasputin was in territorial waters before and at the time of her arrest.
00:55:41Begging your pardon, sir, you didn't hear that from me.
00:55:43We heard it from the commanding officer of the torpedo gunboat that arrested her.
00:55:47Well, sir, there you are then.
00:55:49I mean, some of these Navy types today take away that Decker and their bits of boxes of tricks and
00:55:55they're lost.
00:55:57Half of them think the Polestar's a pub.
00:56:01You realize that the commanding officer of Brave Huntsman is a full-time serving officer who probably uses navigation techniques
00:56:09as part of his daily routine?
00:56:11Maybe he is, sir, but he doesn't have radar working from a fixed reference point on the coast like I
00:56:15have, has he said?
00:56:15Do you have radar at your station?
00:56:19Aye, sir.
00:56:19Is that standard equipment for a coast guard station?
00:56:22Well, it's not common, sir.
00:56:23Not yet.
00:56:24The St. Margaret Station's got it to cover the Straits of Dover as part of the Channel Surveillance Service.
00:56:30Galston on the East Coast have got it.
00:56:32Anywhere where there's a lot of shipping and plenty of navigation hazards, we have it on trial because the sands
00:56:38around our way are always on the move.
00:56:40A heavy storm will put up a new bar overnight.
00:56:44With radar, we can call up ships and warn them when they head in for trouble.
00:56:49Yes, but surely all ships are required to carry accurate charts.
00:56:52Sure, sir, but the Navy Hydrographers Department, who update the charts, can hardly keep up.
00:56:58And most of the coasters plying that stretch don't keep their charts up to date anyway, sir.
00:57:02Can you pinpoint the precise position of a ship near the coast in relation to...
00:57:08Aye, sir, the coast shows up like a map on the radar display and ships show up as blips.
00:57:13Well, all I did was read off the Gin Palace's position on the radar display and then measure a distance
00:57:20from the coast with dividers.
00:57:23Well, these things, sir, that Gin Palace was never in territorial waters any of the time, no matter what he
00:57:32says.
00:57:33Well, this is utterly absurd.
00:57:35Here we have two obviously competent witnesses and neither of them can agree on the simple question of a ship's
00:57:41position near the coast in Broaddale.
00:57:43With respect, my lord, is the position of the accused yacht at the time of her arrest material, the Talon
00:57:49Forts, where the murder attempt took place, are within the three-mile limit?
00:57:53Eh?
00:57:54Now, what's the matter?
00:57:55Well, what he said just then about the Talon Forts being inside the three-mile limit, maybe they were 25
00:58:01years ago, but they aren't now.
00:58:11Oh, that's impossible, my lord, I understand the chart shows.
00:58:13Ah, Mr. Logan, there are no charts in evidence.
00:58:19Is there a chart?
00:58:22No, my lord, there are none in court.
00:58:24Well, if either you or Mr. Golding wish them to be produced, I'm quite agreeable to your adjournment, Mr. Golding.
00:58:32My lord, it's becoming quite evident that we cannot proceed without these charts.
00:58:36Very well then.
00:58:37I shall adjourn now.
00:58:39Let me know if you need more than an hour.
00:58:41All stand.
00:58:52My members of the jury.
00:58:56Mr. Chubb has raised two very important points in his evidence.
00:59:00First, his assertion that the accused yacht was outside the three-mile limit before and at the time of her
00:59:07arrest.
00:59:08Second, his statement that the Talon Forts are also outside the three-mile limit.
00:59:15Now, both counsel are agreed that these two points must be cleared up before we can proceed any further.
00:59:20So, in agreement with them, I've asked Mr. Chubb to stand down so that Lieutenant Scott Temple may explain to
00:59:27us his method of fixing the Rasputin's position at the time of her arrest.
00:59:32We'll deal with the Talon Forts later when the chart comes from the Naval Hydrographer's Office at Rockley Hard.
00:59:40Right.
00:59:47See.
00:59:51Land.
00:59:53This line represents the coast.
00:59:55Here we have the snare rock.
01:00:00And here we have a disused lifeboathouse.
01:00:06Over here is a buoy, which is marking a wreck.
01:00:11Now, these are all known marks shown on my chart.
01:00:15I fixed our position as soon as we heaved to.
01:00:18I read off the angle relative to the lifeboathouse with a compass.
01:00:22I made the correction for deviation and variation from true north.
01:00:26And transferred the line onto the chart.
01:00:30Next, I took the bearing from the snare rock.
01:00:33And again, transferred the line onto the chart.
01:00:36Now, that marks my position.
01:00:38But to prove it, I took a third bearing on the buoy.
01:00:43I then measured the distance between my position and the low tide mark.
01:00:47And found it to be 2.6 nautical miles, 0.4 of a mile, inside the three-mile limit.
01:00:55You are absolutely certain of that?
01:00:57Absolutely, my lord.
01:00:59The third bearing line rarely intersects perfectly.
01:01:01It usually misses by a degree or so.
01:01:03And we end up with a sort of triangle here.
01:01:06What we call a cocked hat.
01:01:07But on this occasion, I had a perfect fix.
01:01:09Hmm.
01:01:11Any questions, Mr Logan?
01:01:13No, my lord.
01:01:14Jolie?
01:01:16Thank you, my lord.
01:01:21Yes, now, what instrument did you use to take these bearings?
01:01:25A compass.
01:01:26A magnetic compass?
01:01:28Yes.
01:01:28Isn't it so that a magnetic compass does not point due north?
01:01:32Yes, of course, it points to magnetic north.
01:01:34But I made the necessary corrections for variation.
01:01:37Yes, isn't it also so that the ship itself introduces magnetic error?
01:01:40Its engines and so forth?
01:01:42Yes, but every ship has a deviation card which shows the error for that particular ship.
01:01:46It's read in conjunction with the ship's heading.
01:01:49Every ship has a deviation card which is unique to that ship.
01:01:53It is drawn up when all the ship's machinery is in place.
01:02:01Oh, my God, I think I see what you're driving at.
01:02:03Exactly, Lieutenant Temple.
01:02:05Tell the court, please, just how much of brave Huntsman's machinery was removed for the refit
01:02:09and the effect it would have on her magnetic compass.
01:02:16Her gun, torpedo tubes, ammunition lockers, death charge throwers, winches, deck plating.
01:02:22Several tons of ironmongery, wouldn't you say, Lieutenant Temple?
01:02:26Uh, yes, several tons.
01:02:29Yes, enough to make nonsense of your calculations when you applied compass error to fix your position.
01:02:37How far out from your true position were you?
01:02:39Half a mile?
01:02:40Mile and a half?
01:02:41Two miles?
01:02:43I, I don't know.
01:02:47I have no more questions for this witness, my Lord.
01:02:50My Lord, I'm, I'm terribly sorry.
01:02:52I, I forgot that removing the deck equipment would, um, would.
01:03:00I'm sorry.
01:03:01We all make mistakes, Lieutenant.
01:03:03You may sit down.
01:03:07Well, Mr. Logan, all we need now is to establish the position of the Talon Forts.
01:03:13Have you any news of the chart?
01:03:16Uh, no, my Lord.
01:03:17I'm afraid it still hasn't arrived.
01:03:19What in heaven's name!
01:03:22Ah, good.
01:03:26Is that the chart?
01:03:29Yes, sir.
01:03:30You, you want to put it in, Mr. Logan?
01:03:32Yes, my Lord.
01:03:33Very well, then.
01:03:34Let me have a look at it.
01:03:45This is better to be marked Exhibit 8.
01:03:49Uh, just a moment, young lady.
01:03:57Do you work at the Navy Hydrographers' Office?
01:04:01Yes, sir.
01:04:02Do you know something about charts?
01:04:05Yes, sir.
01:04:05I did most of the corrections on that one.
01:04:07Hmm.
01:04:08It sounds as if we have another expert witness to contend with, Mr. Logan.
01:04:11Do you want her formally to produce the chart?
01:04:15Yes, my Lord.
01:04:16Hmm.
01:04:17Right.
01:04:18Swear her in.
01:04:20Yeah, but I didn't know anything about what's going on.
01:04:22So much the better.
01:04:23Swear her in.
01:04:24Oh, look, they only sent me because I've got a motorbike.
01:04:31What is your religion?
01:04:33Oh, nothing, really.
01:04:34Let her affirm.
01:04:36Please raise your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
01:04:40I do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give be the truth, the whole
01:04:47truth.
01:04:47Nothing but the truth.
01:04:50Now, what is your name?
01:04:52Gillian.
01:04:53Gillian.
01:04:54Angela.
01:04:55Fisher.
01:04:56Mm-hmm.
01:04:57And your address?
01:04:58Twelve.
01:05:00The quayside.
01:05:02Rockley Hard.
01:05:04Rockley Hard.
01:05:06Now, you are a trainee tracer at the Navy Hydrographers Office.
01:05:10Yes, sir.
01:05:11And how much longer do you have to do before you finish your training?
01:05:15Another year, sir.
01:05:16Another year.
01:05:17Well, now is your time to dazzle us with your knowledge.
01:05:29Yes.
01:05:30I, uh, I think you'd better come up here with me.
01:05:42Up here, beside me.
01:05:44Come on, I won't bite you.
01:05:47Now, would you please point out to me the three-mile limit?
01:05:51Well, it's not marked, sir.
01:05:53What do you mean, it's not marked?
01:05:55This chart is up to date, isn't it?
01:05:57Oh, yes, sir, but we don't mark the three-mile limit, only the twelve-mile limit.
01:06:00You see?
01:06:03Yes, there.
01:06:05Oh, I see.
01:06:07Well, perhaps you could tell me whether the Talon Forts are inside or outside the three-mile limit.
01:06:14Well, yes, sir, but I'd need a pair of dividers.
01:06:18Borrow mine, if you like, sir.
01:06:22See I get them back.
01:06:29Well, if I set the dividers at three miles and place them on the low tide mark on the coastline
01:06:41nearest the forts,
01:06:44little Talon is just outside the three-mile limit, so is great Talon.
01:06:51Have you anything to say about that, Mr. Logan?
01:06:57It would seem, my lord, that the case for the prosecution was based on out-of-date charts.
01:07:03Why is the three-mile limit not marked?
01:07:06I don't know, sir.
01:07:08Mr. Chubb, can you throw any light upon that?
01:07:11Aye, sir.
01:07:14If ever we need to know where the three-mile limit is, we sit down with the chart and work
01:07:18it out for ourselves.
01:07:19There's a procedure laid down in the fisheries manual, sir.
01:07:23And it's not marked on the ordnance survey map?
01:07:25No, sir.
01:07:26So if there is an area of coastal erosion such as there is opposite the Talon Forts, the three-mile
01:07:32limit is constantly changing?
01:07:34Aye, sir.
01:07:35The three-mile limit were originally decided on because that was reckoned to be the maximum range of a cannon.
01:07:40I reckon the Talon Forts were built just on the limit as it was in their day, sir,
01:07:45because they didn't want their cannonballs falling on rockly hard.
01:07:49Well, it's absolutely absurd.
01:07:51But although the jurisdiction of this court extends for three miles from the coast,
01:07:55no document appears, apparently, that definitely and adequately marks that boundary.
01:08:01Well, it's not the Navy hydrographers' fault, sir.
01:08:05Their department comes under the Navy, and they get the chop as soon as there's any cut in defence spending,
01:08:10sir.
01:08:11I've heard it said that they're being transferred over to us, the Trade and Industry Department, sir.
01:08:15Hmm.
01:08:17Well, it would seem, Mr. Logan, Mr. Golding, that there's very little point in continuing with this farce.
01:08:27I was about to suggest much the same thing, my lord.
01:08:29Mr. Logan, I'm bound to agree, my lord.
01:08:32Members of the jury, it has become obvious that the incidents giving rise to this case took place beyond the
01:08:39jurisdiction of this court.
01:08:40What goes on on foreign registered vessels on the high seas is of no concern to this court.
01:08:48And as Learning Counsel for the Prosecution has conceded that the Talon Forts are also outside the jurisdiction of this
01:08:56court,
01:08:57I have no alternative but to direct you to find the accused not guilty of the charges against him.
01:09:03Now, as an American citizen, the accused may have to answer to the American courts for what he does on
01:09:11the high seas,
01:09:11but he is not answerable to this court.
01:09:17Do you find the accused guilty, Daniel Wolfe guilty or not guilty, of attempted murder?
01:09:24My lord, may I ask a question on behalf of my fellow jurors?
01:09:29Yes, by all means.
01:09:30Um, well, you see, sir, with respect, we thought that the territorial waters extended for 12 miles, not 3, sir.
01:09:39The 12-mile limit is only for the purpose of fishery protection.
01:09:42It was introduced a few years ago for that purpose.
01:09:45Only in all other respects, the 3-mile limit stands.
01:09:50Thank you, my lord.
01:09:51Oh, er, not guilty.
01:09:55Well, I believe you have something to say, Mr. Logan, before I discharge the accused.
01:10:00Yes, indeed, my lord.
01:10:01Um, a copy for his lordship.
01:10:06It's a deportation order, my lord, signed by the Home Secretary this morning.
01:10:12Now, Daniel Wolfe is to be held in custody and taken to London Airport this evening,
01:10:16where he will be placed aboard a plane bound for New York.
01:10:19And I understand that two of his fellow countrymen will act as his traveling companions.
01:10:54Ah, Logan.
01:10:55Ah, who were they?
01:10:57Who?
01:10:58Those two men who are going to act as his traveling companions.
01:11:02Narcotics or FBI?
01:11:04FBI.
01:11:05One of Wolfe's associates had given them enough evidence to nail him for good.
01:11:10Or maybe longer.
01:11:12Justice sometimes works in strange ways.
01:11:15Good night.
01:11:19When it works.
01:12:01Join us again when our cameras return to watch a leading case in the Crown Court.
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