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00:00:17Music
00:00:20Robert Aldridge, farm manager of St Mary's Stokan Farm, is accused of harassment, contrary to section 30 of the 1965
00:00:26Rent Act.
00:00:27He's pleaded not guilty. The jury in this trial has been selected from members of the public, whose names appear
00:00:32on the electoral register.
00:00:34I've never seen a man more beside himself. He just pushed straight through my front door into my lounge and
00:00:40started shouting, pushing us about.
00:00:43Me and my wife, that is. This is a tied cottage, he shouts, and you have been sacked so you
00:00:49can effing well get out.
00:00:52Actually, he said something stronger than effing, my lord.
00:00:55Well, I told him he couldn't just walk straight into people's private homes and start behaving like Adolf Hitler.
00:01:01But he said he had every right, and that he'd half a mind to chuck us right out there and
00:01:06then, break the door down if necessary, and set the dog on us because we were worse than animals ourselves.
00:01:13Then he started to kick the furniture around, saying to get rid of these effing old sticks.
00:01:20Actually, he said, er...
00:01:21Something stronger, yes?
00:01:24Yes, Mr. Lloyd.
00:01:25So what did you do, Mr. Gibbs?
00:01:27When I got rid of him, I rang the police.
00:01:29Yes, and you made a complaint against Mr. Aldrich, the defendant, harassment, contrary to Section 30 of the Rent Act
00:01:36of 1965.
00:01:37That's right.
00:01:38There was this other business as well.
00:01:40Yes, we will be coming to that.
00:01:42Now, how did you get rid of the accused on this occasion?
00:01:45Well, I kept as calm as I could, reasoned with him.
00:01:49That seemed to deflate him more than if I'd shouted back.
00:01:53And in the end, he just sort of ran out of steamer and walked back out through the front door.
00:01:57And your wife?
00:01:59Hmm?
00:02:00What part did she take in all this?
00:02:02Well, she was terribly upset.
00:02:05Terribly.
00:02:06It made her ill, and she lost the child.
00:02:08You know, she was took the next day.
00:02:09She miscarried?
00:02:11That's right.
00:02:11And this was as a result of the defendant's behaviour?
00:02:14Oh, no.
00:02:15The witness is not competent to answer medical questions, Mr. Lloyd.
00:02:20Your Honour, surely this is a matter of common sense?
00:02:22I disagree.
00:02:23What you are asking is a question for an expert witness, not a layman.
00:02:28Then let me put it this way.
00:02:30Are you aware of any reason other than the shock of this distressing incident?
00:02:34Oh, really, Mr. Lloyd, you are now leading the witness as well.
00:02:37Apart from anything else, it's quite immaterial whether the accused's conduct provoked the miscarriage.
00:02:42This is not a claim for damages.
00:02:45It would, however, be material to show that the accused knew Mrs. Gibbs was pregnant when he went to the
00:02:50house.
00:02:51As Your Honour wishes.
00:02:53Did the accused know your wife was pregnant, Mr. Gibbs?
00:02:55Well, he must have.
00:02:57I mean, it was obvious.
00:02:58I see.
00:03:00Now, how long have you been working for St. Mary's Stoke and Estates?
00:03:03Ten years.
00:03:04And what was your position on the farm?
00:03:05Senior stockman.
00:03:06Had you held that position for a long time?
00:03:09About five years.
00:03:10I started as general farmman, then herdsman, then senior stockman.
00:03:14Yes.
00:03:15What position does the defendant hold?
00:03:17Well, he's farm manager, isn't he?
00:03:19He was my boss.
00:03:20Yes.
00:03:20Did he give you your first job on this particular farm?
00:03:23Oh, yes.
00:03:25And what sort of relationship did you have with him?
00:03:28Well, we got on fine for years.
00:03:31So did our wives.
00:03:33We used to go out a lot together, dancing and that.
00:03:36We were all very fond of dancing.
00:03:38At one time, we all went on holiday together.
00:03:42And then these last three years, things fell off between us.
00:03:47Why was that?
00:03:49Well, it was because of this tied cottage business, wasn't it?
00:03:52Well, I don't know, Mr. Gibbs.
00:03:53You tell us.
00:03:55Well, I became local secretary of the FUGB.
00:03:58What is that?
00:03:59FUGB.
00:04:00That's the Farm Workers Union of Great Britain, Your Honour.
00:04:03Ah, I see, yes.
00:04:04We have been fighting this tied cottage business for years.
00:04:08For decades.
00:04:09I mean, I know we've got this new law that's just come in,
00:04:11but it's so watery, it doesn't cure anything.
00:04:13Now, Mr. Gibbs, you must leave the question of law to me.
00:04:17The alleged offence happened before the recent Rent Agricultural Bill became law,
00:04:24so it is quite irrelevant.
00:04:25Well, it's barbarous when you and your children can be chucked out into the fields,
00:04:27just on the mere whim of the farmer, even if you're ill,
00:04:30and sometimes just because you are ill.
00:04:31Mr. Gibbs, that's enough.
00:04:35I think a straightforward definition of a tied cottage
00:04:39might be helpful to the jury at this stage.
00:05:10Hmm?
00:05:12Mr. Parsons, that is a matter of a cross-examination.
00:05:18Now, Mr. Gibbs,
00:05:20did this disagreement between yourself and the defendant
00:05:22affect your standard of work for the farm?
00:05:25Well, of course not.
00:05:26And your employment continued?
00:05:28Until the 3rd of September, 1975.
00:05:32And he suddenly sacked me.
00:05:34He said I'd got unreliable,
00:05:36my work was bad,
00:05:37but it's all lies.
00:05:39There's nothing wrong with my work.
00:05:40I have got certificates and prizes.
00:05:43I have been awarded prizes for it.
00:05:46Now, anybody can tell you that.
00:05:47Now, was your house mentioned when he sacked you?
00:05:51Well, he told me to get out because he wanted it.
00:05:54And I told him that wild horses wouldn't drag me out,
00:05:57so he got a court order to chuck me out.
00:05:59What date was that?
00:06:015th of January last year.
00:06:03Most hateful day of my life.
00:06:04And how long did the court order allow you?
00:06:08Well, six months.
00:06:09But this was my home.
00:06:11I mean, this was the only home that my wife and I had ever known.
00:06:15The work I'd done in it.
00:06:18Built a greenhouse, built an extension,
00:06:20done the plumbing.
00:06:22And I hadn't done anything wrong.
00:06:24How did the accused behave towards you
00:06:27during those six months?
00:06:29Well, he didn't do anything for a long time.
00:06:33And then he suddenly cut off the electricity,
00:06:35the water, the sewage.
00:06:37Your Honour, really, my learned friend,
00:06:38must elicit his evidence properly
00:06:40so we know what is evidence
00:06:41and what is merely hearsay or assumption.
00:06:44You really must keep your witness on the rails, Mr Lloyd.
00:06:47Did you see the defendant do those things?
00:06:51No, but he turned them on again
00:06:53a short while later,
00:06:55so he must have done, mustn't he?
00:06:56You may tell us only what you saw yourself.
00:07:00Now, do let's get on with it.
00:07:03Apart from the services being cut off,
00:07:05did anything else happen during those six months?
00:07:07Well, yes.
00:07:09Two weeks later, that's what I was telling you about.
00:07:12When he pushed his way into my home,
00:07:14started threatening us,
00:07:16kicking the furniture about,
00:07:17swearing at us.
00:07:19That's harassment, isn't it?
00:07:21It's barbaric.
00:07:22That's harassment under the Rent Act, Section 30.
00:07:25Yes, thank you, Mr Gibbs.
00:07:26Would you wait there a moment, please?
00:07:29Ah, Mr Gibbs,
00:07:30you are chairman of the subcommittee
00:07:32of the Farm Workers Union of Great Britain,
00:07:34which is fighting a campaign
00:07:35to abolish the tired cottage system altogether.
00:07:38Nothing wrong with that, is there?
00:07:40Did you organise a mass lobby of MPs on the issue last June,
00:07:44and have you contributed at least five articles
00:07:46to the local newspaper about the subject?
00:07:49Yes, I have.
00:07:50And is that why you've written
00:07:51to every national and Sunday newspaper,
00:07:53virtually inviting them to this trial,
00:07:56enclosing a summary of the facts,
00:07:57which I can only describe as splendidly dramatic?
00:08:00It's a terrible case of harassment.
00:08:02People should know about it.
00:08:04Certainly, Mr Gibbs, if these are the facts.
00:08:07I'm just rather disappointed
00:08:08that you don't make any reference
00:08:10to thunderstorms,
00:08:12miserable hovels in the workhouse.
00:08:14I mean, the fact is
00:08:16that the tired cottage issue
00:08:18is a highly emotive one, isn't it?
00:08:21Hmm?
00:08:22People get very worked up about it.
00:08:24Yeah, well, so would you,
00:08:25if you lived in one.
00:08:26Yes, well, did you make a speech,
00:08:29the text of which I quote
00:08:30from your union newsletter,
00:08:33in which you say,
00:08:35the system makes us all complete serfs,
00:08:37and we must break it no matter how,
00:08:40and no matter what the cost?
00:08:42I did.
00:08:43And I stand by every word of it.
00:08:45Yes.
00:08:46So, it's quite clear
00:08:47that you have a very strong ulterior motive
00:08:49in bringing this case, isn't it?
00:08:51Is it?
00:08:52Well, you have an axe to grind, Mr Gibbs.
00:08:54And you rather like the limelight, too,
00:08:57don't you?
00:08:58I want to see justice done.
00:09:00Oh, yes.
00:09:01So do we all, Mr Gibbs.
00:09:03That's why we're all here.
00:09:09Now, when exactly do you say
00:09:11you were sacked from your job?
00:09:1330 September, 75.
00:09:15Yes, 17 months ago.
00:09:16And where are you living now?
00:09:18In my house.
00:09:20Yes.
00:09:20So the possession order was never executed?
00:09:23Hmm.
00:09:23He was afraid to execute it.
00:09:25Yes.
00:09:26Are you paying rent?
00:09:27No, but...
00:09:28So, for well over a year now,
00:09:30you've been living in this house
00:09:32absolutely free of charge.
00:09:34Yeah, but I'm unemployed.
00:09:35An unemployment benefit?
00:09:37Yes, but...
00:09:38And supplementary benefit?
00:09:40That is my entitlement.
00:09:42I've been contributing for years.
00:09:43It's an insurance, you know,
00:09:45not a charity.
00:09:46Hmm.
00:09:47And what sort of car do you run, Mr Gibbs?
00:09:51Renault 12.
00:09:52What year?
00:09:54Last year.
00:09:55Say, it's not quite a case
00:09:56of grinding poverty, then, is it?
00:09:58Yeah, but I'm one of the lucky ones.
00:10:01It's all very fine for you
00:10:02to make me look stupid, Mr Smarty Pants,
00:10:04but farm workers
00:10:05and the most exploited captive labour force
00:10:07that this country has ever...
00:10:09Mr Gibbs, Mr Gibbs,
00:10:11I really cannot allow you
00:10:13to address learned councillors
00:10:15of Smarty Pants.
00:10:17For your part, Mr Parsons,
00:10:20you are straying somewhat far
00:10:22from the issue of harassment.
00:10:23Your Honour, in my submission,
00:10:25this is a case where a certain amount
00:10:26of background material
00:10:27is essential for the jury.
00:10:29I would agree to a certain amount,
00:10:30but may we keep it to a minimum, please?
00:10:32Your Honour.
00:10:33Now, Mr Gibbs, you've told the court
00:10:35that your dismissal on September 3rd, 1975
00:10:38was an act of victimisation.
00:10:40That's right.
00:10:41Did you then apply to the Industrial Tribunal
00:10:44for compensation for unfair dismissal?
00:10:47What?
00:10:48Well, come now, Mr Gibbs,
00:10:50being such an active union man,
00:10:52you would well know the procedure
00:10:53for dealing with a case of unfair dismissal
00:10:55through victimisation.
00:10:56I didn't bother with that.
00:10:58You didn't bother?
00:10:59To tell you the truth,
00:11:00I was sick of Aldridge.
00:11:02Sick to the back teeth
00:11:03with him and the whole damn business.
00:11:06I didn't want dismissal,
00:11:07but when it came,
00:11:08I thought, right, move on.
00:11:10Ha!
00:11:11That's just what you didn't do.
00:11:13Yeah, but I couldn't get a job.
00:11:16Well, my instructions as a result of inquiries
00:11:19with the Fultester Job Centre
00:11:21are that between November 1975
00:11:24and August 1976,
00:11:25you were offered three positions
00:11:27as a senior stockman in local farms,
00:11:29two at markedly higher rates
00:11:32than you'd been getting at St Mary Stokin,
00:11:33and you turned them all down.
00:11:35Yeah, but they weren't suitable.
00:11:36But you said just now you couldn't get a job.
00:11:38Couldn't get a suitable job.
00:11:40But you turned these down,
00:11:42and the reason is clear, isn't it?
00:11:44You wanted to stay put.
00:11:46You wanted to create a crisis
00:11:47in your tied cottage tenancy
00:11:49so you could invite the press
00:11:50to follow it stage by stage,
00:11:52and this would enormously strengthen
00:11:54your case for abolition.
00:11:55That's why you've cooked up
00:11:56this entirely baseless charge
00:11:58of harassment, isn't it?
00:12:00I have never heard so many damn lies
00:12:02in all my life.
00:12:03Why turn down two better-paid jobs
00:12:06and stay put unemployed?
00:12:18I should like to turn now
00:12:19to the events of June 17th, 1976,
00:12:22when you claimed that the defendant
00:12:23entered your house by force
00:12:25and shouted at you and threatened you
00:12:27and kicked the furniture about and so on.
00:12:30Yes.
00:12:31Who else was present?
00:12:32My wife, Bob Aldridge,
00:12:35and the man who took over my job.
00:12:37Mr. Kenneth Clayton.
00:12:39That's him, yes.
00:12:40Yes, well, we'll be hearing
00:12:40from Mr. Clayton later.
00:12:42Sir, there was just the four of you present.
00:12:45That's right.
00:12:46Would it surprise you to learn,
00:12:47Mr. Gibbs,
00:12:47that both the defendant
00:12:48and Mr. Clayton
00:12:49have an entirely different version
00:12:51of what happened that morning?
00:12:53Well, they would have, wouldn't they?
00:12:55I mean, they say it was you
00:12:56who went berserk,
00:12:58who started shouting at them
00:13:00and threatened them
00:13:00and physically pushed them out
00:13:02with a stream of obscene abuse
00:13:04while they remained calm.
00:13:06Absolute lies.
00:13:08Quite sure about that.
00:13:09Of course I'm sure of it.
00:13:11You, uh, kept, uh...
00:13:14you kept calm and reason with them.
00:13:17That's right.
00:13:19Really, Mr. Gibbs,
00:13:20if the way you feel
00:13:20about tied cottages...
00:13:23I beg your pardon?
00:13:24Well, I mean,
00:13:25we've all seen the effect
00:13:26that the tied cottage issue
00:13:27has upon you here in this court,
00:13:29and you're asking us to believe
00:13:30that confronted by the man
00:13:31who had unjustly sacked you,
00:13:33who had victimized you,
00:13:35who had obtained an eviction order
00:13:36to put you and your pregnant wife
00:13:37out into the gutter,
00:13:38who had entered your very home
00:13:39to abuse and insult you,
00:13:41that faced with him,
00:13:42you kept calm
00:13:44and reasoned with him.
00:13:46What was it to reason about,
00:13:47for goodness' sake?
00:13:49I told him
00:13:50to sit down
00:13:51and to talk about it sensibly.
00:13:54I see.
00:13:55Now, tell me, Mr. Gibbs,
00:13:57are you a violent man?
00:13:58Of course not.
00:14:03OK.
00:14:04What's it mean?
00:14:07Does Your Honour
00:14:08have any questions
00:14:08for this witness?
00:14:10No, thank you.
00:14:11You may go and sit down.
00:14:23I call Mrs. Margaret Gibbs.
00:14:29I swear by almighty God
00:14:31that the evidence I shall give
00:14:33shall be the truth,
00:14:34the whole truth,
00:14:34and nothing but the truth.
00:14:36give Mrs. Gibbs a chair,
00:14:38would you?
00:14:38No, that's all right.
00:14:40Are you sure?
00:14:41Yes, that's quite all right,
00:14:42Your Honour.
00:14:43You are Mrs. Margaret May Gibbs,
00:14:46the wife of Ralph Gibbs,
00:14:47formerly senior stockman
00:14:48for St. Mary's Stoke
00:14:49and Estates Limited.
00:14:51Yes.
00:14:52What is your address,
00:14:52Mrs. Gibbs?
00:14:53Valley Dean,
00:14:54Stoke and Farm,
00:14:56St. Mary's Stoke and
00:14:57Yes, that is the service house
00:14:59which you and your husband
00:14:59originally occupied
00:15:00as part of the terms
00:15:02of his employment?
00:15:03It's a tied cottage,
00:15:04that's right.
00:15:05Would you please
00:15:05speak up a little,
00:15:06Mrs. Gibbs?
00:15:07Oh, I'm sorry,
00:15:08Your Honour.
00:15:10Mrs. Gibbs,
00:15:10the court has heard
00:15:11how your husband's
00:15:12employment was terminated
00:15:14and how the county court
00:15:15made a possession order
00:15:16on January 5th of last year
00:15:18giving you six months' notice.
00:15:20Oh, be thrown out,
00:15:21that's right.
00:15:21Yes.
00:15:22Now, was there any
00:15:22communication
00:15:23between yourself
00:15:24and the defendant
00:15:26for the first five
00:15:27of those six months?
00:15:29Well, I used to see him
00:15:29from time to time.
00:15:31I mean, bump into him
00:15:32like, coming and going.
00:15:34Our house was just
00:15:35down the lane
00:15:35from the dairy complex,
00:15:36you see.
00:15:37And he used to ask me
00:15:39when we were going to go,
00:15:40that sort of thing.
00:15:41What would you reply?
00:15:42Well, that we had
00:15:43nowhere to go.
00:15:44And was he going to
00:15:45throw us out into the gutter?
00:15:46Now, did he ever
00:15:47threaten you
00:15:48in any way
00:15:49at that stage?
00:15:50No.
00:15:52No?
00:15:53Oh,
00:15:54he used to say
00:15:55that the herd would suffer
00:15:56because there was
00:15:56no stockman on sight.
00:15:58I mean, if a beast
00:15:59was ill in the middle
00:16:00of the night,
00:16:00then she'd be just
00:16:01left to suffer
00:16:01because of us.
00:16:02And that worried you?
00:16:03Well, of course it did.
00:16:05My husband's
00:16:06a good stockman
00:16:07and good stockmen
00:16:08care about their beasts
00:16:09and I care about my husband.
00:16:11And did any suffer,
00:16:12to your knowledge?
00:16:12No.
00:16:14Oh,
00:16:15one died.
00:16:17That was one, two, seven.
00:16:18And he tried to make out
00:16:20that it was due to us
00:16:21and there being no one there,
00:16:22but I don't think
00:16:22it had anything to do with that.
00:16:23Did you say
00:16:24one, two, seven?
00:16:25That was her number,
00:16:26Your Honor.
00:16:27I always thought
00:16:28cows had names.
00:16:30It's only in children's
00:16:31storybooks
00:16:31where they're called
00:16:32Daisy.
00:16:34Oh.
00:16:36Sir, did the cow's death
00:16:38concern you?
00:16:39Well, yes,
00:16:40of course it did.
00:16:41But we had nowhere to go.
00:16:43I mean,
00:16:44the herd's important,
00:16:45but when it comes down to it,
00:16:47people are more important.
00:16:49Now,
00:16:50I want to ask you
00:16:50about the events
00:16:51of June the 1st,
00:16:53last year.
00:16:54Oh, yes.
00:16:55Do you remember
00:16:56what happened?
00:16:58Was that one,
00:16:59the sewage and that?
00:17:00Would you tell us
00:17:00about that, please?
00:17:02Well,
00:17:02I was working
00:17:03in the kitchen
00:17:04and I had the washing machine on
00:17:06and then suddenly
00:17:07it stopped,
00:17:08the water
00:17:09and the electricity.
00:17:10So I went all
00:17:11around the house
00:17:12and I tried all the taps
00:17:13and switches
00:17:13and they was all off.
00:17:15And then the next time
00:17:16I flushed the jacks,
00:17:17it all came up
00:17:18all over the garden.
00:17:18I mean,
00:17:19it was disgusting,
00:17:20it was unhygienic.
00:17:21Flushed the what?
00:17:22The toilet.
00:17:24Ah, yes.
00:17:26What time was that?
00:17:27It'd be the middle
00:17:28of the afternoon,
00:17:29about three o'clock.
00:17:30And could you see
00:17:30what had caused
00:17:31these stoppages?
00:17:32Well, no.
00:17:33But since all three things
00:17:34went off at once,
00:17:35then it stands to reason
00:17:36that somebody must...
00:17:36Ah, Mrs Gibbs,
00:17:37I'm afraid you mustn't tell us
00:17:37what you think the cause was,
00:17:39but only what you actually
00:17:40observed for yourself.
00:17:42Now, did you take any action
00:17:43as a result?
00:17:44Well, yes, I did.
00:17:46I went and found Bob Aldrich
00:17:47and I asked him
00:17:48what the hell he thought
00:17:48he was playing at.
00:17:50And he said
00:17:50that I'd got no call
00:17:51to go crying my rights
00:17:52after the way we'd behaved
00:17:54and that I was trespassing
00:17:55and to get off at the double
00:17:56or he'd shoot my effing feet off.
00:17:59Actually,
00:18:00he used a stronger word
00:18:01than effing, my lord.
00:18:04So I went home
00:18:05and I phoned the newspaper man
00:18:07and he came round
00:18:09and saw for himself
00:18:09and then he wrote about it
00:18:10two days later.
00:18:11May she be shown
00:18:12Exhibit 2, please.
00:18:20Is that the article?
00:18:22Yes, that's it.
00:18:23And that appeared
00:18:23two days later.
00:18:25That would be on June the 3rd.
00:18:26That's right.
00:18:27Do you know
00:18:28whether the accused
00:18:29took the paper at that time?
00:18:31Yes, regular.
00:18:32So he would have seen this?
00:18:33Yes.
00:18:34Now,
00:18:34did anything else happen
00:18:36on the day
00:18:37that that article appeared?
00:18:39Yes.
00:18:40The water
00:18:41and the electricity
00:18:41and the sewage
00:18:42was all suddenly restored
00:18:44about nine o'clock.
00:18:45That would be a few minutes
00:18:46after the paper
00:18:47would be delivered
00:18:47at the farm manager's house.
00:18:49Yes.
00:18:50Could you see
00:18:50how these services
00:18:52had been restored?
00:18:53No.
00:18:54But a few minutes afterwards
00:18:56I saw Bob Aldrich
00:18:57skulking around
00:18:58the dairy complex
00:18:59not 50 yards off.
00:19:00Skulking, Your Honour?
00:19:01Furtive looking.
00:19:02In what way?
00:19:04Well,
00:19:04he was half leaning forward
00:19:05half crouching
00:19:06looking like he didn't want
00:19:07to be seen
00:19:08I thought
00:19:09and he could have
00:19:10turned everything on
00:19:10and off
00:19:11from where he was.
00:19:12I mean,
00:19:12the stop cocks
00:19:13were all where he was.
00:19:15Now,
00:19:16I'd like to ask you
00:19:17about the events
00:19:18of June the 17th
00:19:19last year
00:19:20when the defendant
00:19:21visited your home.
00:19:23Oh,
00:19:23when he kicked
00:19:24the furniture and that.
00:19:25Would you tell us
00:19:26about that?
00:19:28Well,
00:19:28I was working upstairs
00:19:30and I heard this
00:19:31banging and shouting about
00:19:33so I went down
00:19:34and there was Bob Aldrich
00:19:36in the middle
00:19:36of our lounge.
00:19:37and she was almost
00:19:37purple in the face
00:19:38and shouting at our Ralph
00:19:40that number 127
00:19:41had died
00:19:42and that he'd been up
00:19:43all night
00:19:43trying to save her.
00:19:45When the effing hell
00:19:46were we going to get out
00:19:47and let the regular
00:19:48stockman move in?
00:19:49Well,
00:19:50Ralph tried to talk sense
00:19:52to him
00:19:52but he wouldn't listen
00:19:53to reason
00:19:53and then he started
00:19:55kicking the furniture.
00:19:56Our wedding suite
00:19:56and that
00:19:57and he started
00:19:58pushing Ralph
00:19:58around the room
00:19:59and shouting
00:20:00that he was going
00:20:00to put the dogs on us
00:20:01because we were worse
00:20:02than animals ourselves
00:20:04and then suddenly
00:20:05he left.
00:20:07What effect
00:20:08did this have on you?
00:20:10I was sick.
00:20:13Well, I mean
00:20:14this was our home
00:20:16and he was like
00:20:18the Gestapo.
00:20:19I mean,
00:20:19he was just
00:20:20standing there
00:20:21smashing the place up.
00:20:24I was 18 weeks
00:20:25pregnant at the time
00:20:28and that night
00:20:28I had to be taken
00:20:29into the hospital.
00:20:32I lost the baby
00:20:33the next day.
00:20:36Thank you,
00:20:37Mrs Gibbs.
00:20:42I'm sure
00:20:42there can be no one
00:20:43in this court
00:20:43Mrs Gibbs
00:20:44who does not
00:20:44sympathise deeply
00:20:45with you
00:20:46over what you've
00:20:46just described.
00:20:49So,
00:20:50if I appear to question
00:20:51some of the things
00:20:51you've just been saying
00:20:52please understand
00:20:53it is out of my duty
00:20:54to do so
00:20:55not out of any wish
00:20:57to make you
00:20:57suffer further.
00:21:01Now,
00:21:02was that the first
00:21:03miscarriage
00:21:03you've ever suffered?
00:21:05Your Honor,
00:21:05what on earth
00:21:05has this to do
00:21:06with the case?
00:21:06I hope you have
00:21:07a good reason
00:21:08indeed for asking
00:21:09that question,
00:21:10Mr Parsons.
00:21:11I have, Your Honor.
00:21:12Then I think
00:21:13we should allow
00:21:13this to go a little further.
00:21:15I'm obliged, Your Honor.
00:21:17Mrs Gibbs,
00:21:17do you have children?
00:21:19No.
00:21:20Is it true
00:21:21that you suffer
00:21:21from anemia?
00:21:23Yes.
00:21:24And has this not been
00:21:25the cause of you
00:21:25suffering a number
00:21:26of miscarriages
00:21:27over the ten years
00:21:28of your marriage?
00:21:30Did you not ask
00:21:31advice about this
00:21:32once from the
00:21:32defendant's wife?
00:21:34That was
00:21:34inconfident,
00:21:35that was confidential.
00:21:36We were friends
00:21:37in those days.
00:21:38Well, I'm afraid
00:21:38we have to know
00:21:39these things,
00:21:40Mrs Gibbs,
00:21:40confidential or not.
00:21:41It is a fact,
00:21:42isn't it,
00:21:43that not all
00:21:44of these miscarriages
00:21:45were brought about
00:21:46by shocking experiences
00:21:47such as the one
00:21:48you've just described.
00:21:50Do we have to go
00:21:51into all this?
00:21:53Well, I'm sorry,
00:21:53Mrs Gibbs,
00:21:54we have to get
00:21:54these things in perspective.
00:21:56You have suffered
00:21:57in this way before,
00:21:59apparently,
00:22:00for no reason at all.
00:22:03So, the fact
00:22:04that you suffered
00:22:05a miscarriage
00:22:05on the 18th of June
00:22:07does not indicate
00:22:08that anything untoward
00:22:09had happened beforehand.
00:22:11Now, Mrs Gibbs,
00:22:12I'm sure you love
00:22:13your husband dearly
00:22:14and you very much
00:22:15want to give him
00:22:16children,
00:22:16but in the meantime
00:22:17you help him
00:22:18as much as you can
00:22:18with his union work,
00:22:20don't you?
00:22:21Yes.
00:22:21Yes.
00:22:22Do you share
00:22:23his desire
00:22:24to abolish
00:22:25the tight cottage
00:22:25system altogether?
00:22:27Not to the point
00:22:27of lying in court.
00:22:29You would never
00:22:30lie on oath
00:22:31for your husband
00:22:32in court
00:22:32even to help him?
00:22:33Why, I'd be a fool
00:22:34to him.
00:22:35No, I wouldn't.
00:22:37Mrs Gibbs,
00:22:38did your husband
00:22:38appear in this very
00:22:39court in May 1971?
00:22:41Your Honour,
00:22:41I utterly fail to see
00:22:43that the previous
00:22:43convictions of this
00:22:44lady's husband,
00:22:45if there were any,
00:22:47have anything whatever
00:22:47to do with her evidence.
00:22:49If my learned friend
00:22:50will be patient
00:22:51for one moment
00:22:52he will see the connection.
00:22:54Was he charged
00:22:55with common assault
00:22:56during a picket line dispute?
00:22:58Well, that's got nothing
00:22:59to do with this case.
00:23:00Did he conduct
00:23:00his own defence?
00:23:02He didn't trust lawyers.
00:23:03Was his evidence
00:23:04essentially an alibi
00:23:05that he was with you
00:23:06at home
00:23:07at the time in question?
00:23:08Yes, he was with me!
00:23:10You were his only witness
00:23:12and you did indeed
00:23:13swear on oath
00:23:13that he was with you.
00:23:15But the prosecution
00:23:16proved beyond all doubt
00:23:17that you were both lying
00:23:19and your husband
00:23:20was convicted and fined.
00:23:22Isn't that so?
00:23:23So you were
00:23:24fully prepared
00:23:25to lie on oath
00:23:26in order to help him.
00:23:51The cases in Forchester
00:23:53are fictitious.
00:23:54You can join us again tomorrow
00:23:55when the Queen
00:23:56against Aldrich
00:23:56will be resumed
00:23:57in the Crown Court.
00:23:58and you are
00:24:33Ralph Gibbs was senior stockman on St Mary's Stokan Farm near Fulchester.
00:24:37A year ago, he was sacked by the farm manager, but he refused to leave his tied cottage.
00:24:42He claims that he was victimised and that Mr Aldrich illegally harassed him to get him to move.
00:24:47His wife supports this story.
00:24:49The Defence Council has alleged that in 1971, Mrs Gibbs lied on oath in court in support of her husband.
00:24:57I know the court found my husband guilty, and that meant they didn't believe my story,
00:25:02but I swear to God they were wrong, and I didn't lie on oath then any more than I am
00:25:06doing now.
00:25:07You're quite certain about that?
00:25:09Absolutely certain.
00:25:12Well, we shall see.
00:25:14Now, would you look at this, please?
00:25:16I'll give you pass this to the witness.
00:25:19Members of the jury, you'll be getting copies of all these documents before you retire.
00:25:25Now, that is a Minister of Agriculture, a veterinary certificate,
00:25:28giving the cause of death of the Frisian cow you called 127.
00:25:33Yes.
00:25:34What cause does it give?
00:25:36It says transit tetany, what we call transit staggers.
00:25:39Do you accept that is correct?
00:25:41Yes.
00:25:43Would that cause the beast's undue suffering before it died?
00:25:46It might do.
00:25:47Suffering that might have been averted if a stockman had been on site.
00:25:50Well, he couldn't treat it.
00:25:51Maybe he could have called the vet.
00:25:53You'd have realised at an earlier stage what was happening and called for assistance.
00:25:57I suppose so.
00:25:59You see, Mrs Gibbs, I put it to you that the whole object of your Thai cottage being where it
00:26:03is,
00:26:03right next to the dairy complex,
00:26:05is precisely so that the stockman can do his job properly day and night and in emergencies.
00:26:11Now, where was your husband's successor living at this time?
00:26:14I don't see what that's got done.
00:26:15Answer the question, please.
00:26:18Park cottage?
00:26:19And how far away is that?
00:26:21About two miles.
00:26:22So, it's hardly surprising that the farm manager would lose his temper over the loss of this animal in such
00:26:28circumstances.
00:26:29Yes, but he shouldn't harass us.
00:26:31I'm talking about loss of temper.
00:26:33He's got a duty to house us.
00:26:35He can't just turn us out.
00:26:37Well, didn't he offer you alternative accommodation?
00:26:40What?
00:26:40After the court order, did not Mr Aldridge offer you park cottage for your own use?
00:26:47But that's a filthy hovel.
00:26:48I mean, it's not fit for pigs.
00:26:50And it's stuck right up in the hills.
00:26:51Well, Mr Clayton's living there now.
00:26:54He must have done it up then after he showed it to us.
00:26:57Oh, really, Mrs Gibbs?
00:26:59What a very interesting theory.
00:27:03Now, tell me, how is the sewage disposed of in your present house?
00:27:08Through the drains.
00:27:10Is there a main drainage?
00:27:11No, it's a cesspit.
00:27:13Yes.
00:27:13With an electric pump?
00:27:15I suppose so.
00:27:16So, any breakdown in the electrical supply would automatically mean that the sewage pump would temporarily cease to function?
00:27:23Perhaps.
00:27:24Would it or wouldn't it?
00:27:26I suppose it might.
00:27:27I mean, I can't say any more than that, can I?
00:27:29I'm not an electrician.
00:27:30You see, Mr Aldridge will not deny that he cut off the electricity to the entire dairy complex at about
00:27:353 p.m. on June 1st,
00:27:37when he was showing the new owner of the estate around the buildings.
00:27:39Yes, Mr Buttonley, I saw him.
00:27:40Yes, but he turned it on again at 3.30.
00:27:43No.
00:27:43Oh, between 3.30 and 3.45.
00:27:46No.
00:27:47He didn't turn it on again.
00:27:49I mean, we were without it for two days, and the sewage came up into the garden.
00:27:53And what about the water?
00:27:54He turned the water off, too.
00:27:56Yes, and you say that you went to Mr Aldridge in the farmyard to complain about it.
00:28:00Yes, I did, and he didn't do anything about it.
00:28:02It's because you didn't say what it was you were complaining about.
00:28:06What?
00:28:07Mr Aldridge will tell us how you came up to him in the yard in front of Mr Bottomley
00:28:12and started shouting and swearing at him and threatening him with a court action.
00:28:16But not once did you say what it was you wanted done.
00:28:19But he knew that.
00:28:20Not surprisingly, he ordered you off the place in some heat.
00:28:23And the first thing he knew what it was you had been shouting about
00:28:26was when he read about it in the newspaper some two days later.
00:28:30What?
00:28:30When he took immediate steps to make sure that all the services to your house were working properly.
00:28:35That's absolute nonsense!
00:28:37He found that the electricity and the sewage were working normally.
00:28:40But what about the water?
00:28:42An airlock.
00:28:43One quick thump and it was working perfectly.
00:28:46Is that what he told you?
00:28:48Well, he will swear to it and that box and be cross-examined on it.
00:28:52And his word on oath has not been found wanting.
00:28:56Look, do you think that my husband would be such a fool as to bring a case of harassment against
00:29:01him
00:29:01with all his union watching if it could be dismissed as easily as that?
00:29:07Well, that is my case, Mrs Gibbs.
00:29:10But, um, we shall have to see, shan't we?
00:29:14Mr Lloyd?
00:29:16No further questions, Your Honour.
00:29:18You may leave the witness box, Mrs Gibbs.
00:29:28I call Spike Fox.
00:29:33You are Spike Fox of 23 Mableton Avenue, Fulchester,
00:29:36and you are a freelance newspaper reporter.
00:29:38That's right.
00:29:39May he be shown Exhibit 2, please?
00:29:46Did you write that article in the Fulchester Gazette?
00:29:48Yes, I did.
00:29:49Did you write it as a result of an interview with Mrs Gibbs?
00:29:52Yes.
00:29:52Did you actually visit the Gibbs' house?
00:29:54Yes.
00:29:54When was this?
00:29:55That would be the Monday before this appeared.
00:29:57That would be June the 1st, 1976.
00:30:00What happened when you got there?
00:30:01I saw that the water and electricity weren't working
00:30:04and the vegetable garden was a pond of sewage.
00:30:07Disgusting.
00:30:08A terrible health hazard.
00:30:09Did you try to find out why these services were not working?
00:30:12Yes, I went right round the place,
00:30:13testing all the switches and taps, stopcocks and main fuses.
00:30:17They were all quite definitely in order,
00:30:19right up to the boundary of the garden by the dairy complex.
00:30:21Did you draw any conclusions from this?
00:30:23That the services must have been cut off
00:30:24from another set of mains and stopcocks
00:30:26inside the dairy buildings.
00:30:28There was no other way it could have happened.
00:30:30Now, did you subsequently pay another visit
00:30:32to the Gibbs' house?
00:30:33Yes, I went out to the house again on June the 17th,
00:30:36after Ralph Gibbs had phoned me.
00:30:38I found both the Gibbs in a terrible state.
00:30:40They described how Mr. Albridge...
00:30:41I'm sorry, Mr. Fox, I'm sorry you can't tell us that.
00:30:44But did you see for yourself
00:30:45any evidence to support what they'd told you had happened?
00:30:48Yes, the way the lounge had been wrecked.
00:30:51Furniture knocked over, glass broken and so on.
00:30:54And the state Mrs. Gibbs was in.
00:30:56She was terribly shocked, cold and shivering.
00:30:59And she was sick while I was there.
00:31:02Thank you, Mr. Fox.
00:31:03Would you stay there for a moment, please?
00:31:06How much are you being paid for this, Mr. Fox?
00:31:09What?
00:31:11You're a freelance reporter, are you not?
00:31:13You're paid by the article?
00:31:15Yes.
00:31:15Now, you've sold this to the local paper
00:31:17and three national papers.
00:31:18Did any other papers buy it?
00:31:20Some others took it up.
00:31:21So how much have you made on the article altogether?
00:31:24I can't remember.
00:31:26Several hundred pounds?
00:31:28It might have been.
00:31:29Is it true to say that the juicier the story,
00:31:31the better it will sell?
00:31:33If you mean that I've concocted...
00:31:34No, no, no.
00:31:35No, I mean what I'm asking.
00:31:36Is it true to say that the juicier the story,
00:31:39the more you get for it?
00:31:40Not to the quality press.
00:31:42Oh, come now.
00:31:43You're not trying to tell me
00:31:44that the four papers you've sold it to
00:31:46represent the quality press.
00:31:48I report what is factually correct.
00:31:50The payment I receive does not influence what I write.
00:31:53You're a writer of integrity, you say?
00:31:55I try to be.
00:31:56And these articles were fair and objective and...
00:32:00Look, they report what happened.
00:32:03Very well, Mr. Fox.
00:32:06Mr. Spike Fox, is it?
00:32:09That's right.
00:32:10It's an unusual name.
00:32:12Were you christened Spike?
00:32:14No.
00:32:16What were you christened?
00:32:18Oswald.
00:32:20It doesn't have quite the same campaigning ring about it, does it?
00:32:26Tony, how many articles have you written about the evictions from tied cottages?
00:32:31I've never counted.
00:32:32Ah, well, I have, Mr. Fox.
00:32:34Is this list of 18 articles written by you in various journals over the past three years,
00:32:39all on this topic, correct?
00:32:46Would it be true to say that you have strong feelings about these evictions?
00:32:49If you've ever seen a family, including young children, forcibly thrown out onto the street...
00:32:54But that wasn't what I...
00:32:55Let me finish.
00:32:56Thrown out by professional strongmen, and all their furniture and possessions dumped on the pavement next to them,
00:33:01and everyone screaming and crying, and the husbands having to be forcibly restrained by the police.
00:33:06And this now?
00:33:071977?
00:33:10Then you would have strong feelings about it, too.
00:33:13Well, no one's doubting your good-heartedness, Mr. Fox.
00:33:16What I am questioning is your objectivity.
00:33:20Where did your information for those 18 articles come from?
00:33:24Every reporter has his sources.
00:33:26Yes.
00:33:26Is it true that the foreign workers' union of Great Britain are actively campaigning to abolish the tied cottage system
00:33:32altogether?
00:33:33That's common knowledge.
00:33:34Yes.
00:33:34And have they appointed a subcommittee to seek publicity on this issue?
00:33:38I don't see what that's got to do with...
00:33:39Answer the question, please.
00:33:41Yes.
00:33:42And who's his chairman?
00:33:43That's got nothing to do with...
00:33:44Who's his chairman, Mr. Fox?
00:33:47Ralph Gibbs.
00:33:48Yes.
00:33:49And has he supplied you with a great deal of material on this subject over the past three years?
00:33:54Well, why...
00:33:55The basis, in fact, for most of those articles in case histories.
00:33:58Why shouldn't he?
00:34:00Well, no reason, Mr. Fox.
00:34:01So long as the articles you then write are fair and unbiased.
00:34:05Of course they are.
00:34:06Yes.
00:34:08Now, why in the case of Gibbs, didn't you interview the farm manager?
00:34:12The defendant didn't get his side of the story, too.
00:34:15I couldn't find him.
00:34:16Couldn't find him?
00:34:17I was only there a few hours.
00:34:20His phone didn't answer when I rang him.
00:34:21Where from?
00:34:22What?
00:34:23Where did you telephoned him from?
00:34:24Was it a public call box on the estate?
00:34:29The Gibbs let me use their telephone.
00:34:30Oh, I see.
00:34:31It wasn't that you weren't interested in his side of the story.
00:34:34No.
00:34:35No.
00:34:37Just two other things.
00:34:40On your first visit, did you yourself see the electricity and sewage being cut off?
00:34:46No, but I...
00:34:47So all you know about why they were cut off is from what the Gibbs told you?
00:34:51I suppose so.
00:34:52Yes.
00:34:54On your second visit, did you see who wrecked the Gibbs lounge and what caused Mrs. Gibbs' distress?
00:35:01But it was obvious.
00:35:03They told you?
00:35:04Yes.
00:35:05Yes.
00:35:06Thank you, Mr. Fox.
00:35:11EV lawyers.
00:35:18That is the case for the prosecution, Your Honor.
00:35:22Yes, Mr. Parson.
00:35:23I called the defendant, Robert Aldrich.
00:35:37Take the book in your right hand and read aloud what's on the command.
00:35:40I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
00:35:45but the truth.
00:35:47You are Robert Aldrich?
00:35:49Yes.
00:35:50And you're the farm manager for St. Mary Stoke and Estates Limited, and you live in the manager's house on
00:35:54the estate?
00:35:55Yes.
00:35:55Is that a tight cottage?
00:35:56Yes.
00:35:57How big is the farm, Mr. Aldrich?
00:35:59Just over 2,000 acres.
00:36:01Yes.
00:36:01And who owns it?
00:36:03Last spring it was bought by a company called Immura Limited, owned by Mr. G.W. Bottomley.
00:36:07Before that, the owners were Stoke and Discretionary Trust.
00:36:10The main trustee was Lord Lovington, in whose family it has been for 300 years or so.
00:36:16Yes.
00:36:17What sort of farm is it?
00:36:19It's mixed.
00:36:19We have a prize herd of Friesians, some pigs and sheep.
00:36:24We grow cereals and peas, and we belong to a maize cooperative.
00:36:29Yes.
00:36:29Now, Mr. Aldrich, would you tell the court just a little about yourself?
00:36:34I took a BSc in agriculture at Reading, then ran my family farm for a while.
00:36:40Lord Lovington offered me the managership of the estate some 12 years ago, and I took it.
00:36:44Yes.
00:36:45Are you on a monthly salary?
00:36:46That's right.
00:36:47Yes.
00:36:48Now, Mr. Aldrich, have you at any time attempted to harass Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs,
00:36:53who have interfered with their peace and comfort,
00:36:55or cut off their supplies and services to their house in an attempt to make them leave it?
00:36:59No.
00:37:00Definitely not.
00:37:02Now, the whole issue of tied cottages is an extremely thorny one, isn't it?
00:37:07I've never had any trouble over them, except from Ralph Gibbs.
00:37:11But, uh, you would agree that it causes a great many problems?
00:37:15Problems are caused by it.
00:37:16Far more would be caused without it.
00:37:19Could you explain that?
00:37:20Well, take our herd, for example.
00:37:23Those beasts represent a capital investment of 80,000 pounds.
00:37:29The stockman must live by them, or he can't look after them.
00:37:33That means a service house, one built by the farm, on the site, for that purpose.
00:37:41I mean, he doesn't have to take the job, but if he does, it's part of the conditions he accepts
00:37:46that he lives over the shop,
00:37:48the only house from which it's possible to do the job properly.
00:37:51Yes.
00:37:52Now, we've heard that your senior stockman for several years, up until September 1975, was Ralph Gibbs.
00:37:58That's right.
00:38:00Now, how did he lose that position?
00:38:02I sacked him.
00:38:03Why?
00:38:04He became irresponsible.
00:38:07He started taking more and more time off without telling me to do his union work and neglecting his farm
00:38:11duties.
00:38:12I found he was skipping milking more times than I could remember.
00:38:17And he wasn't to be found at all during the last two AI visits.
00:38:20AI?
00:38:22Artificial insemination, Your Honor.
00:38:24I warned him several times, but finally I had to sack him.
00:38:29Yes.
00:38:29Was it a verbal dismissal?
00:38:32Yes, but I followed it up with a letter.
00:38:34Now, in that letter, did you make any reference to his service occupancy?
00:38:38Yes.
00:38:38I said that we would endeavour to cope without the use of his house, until he found himself a new
00:38:43job.
00:38:43But I warned him that we might have to ask for the house, depending on how his successor was placed.
00:38:49Yes.
00:38:50Did he reply to that?
00:38:51No.
00:38:52Did he at any time argue that he had a legal right to stay put?
00:38:56No.
00:38:56Well, he hadn't, had he?
00:38:58Hmm.
00:38:59Did you offer him alternative accommodation?
00:39:01Yes.
00:39:02The estate offered him Park Cottage.
00:39:04That's a nice little cottage on the edge of a wood.
00:39:06It used to be a gamekeeper's cottage.
00:39:08It's not modern, and it is a bit quiet up there, but there's nothing wrong with it.
00:39:11Yes.
00:39:12Rent and rates free?
00:39:13We asked a nominal rent of 50p a week, and the rates would have been paid by the estate.
00:39:18Yes.
00:39:19A very generous gesture, and did the Gibbs accept this cottage?
00:39:23No.
00:39:25Well, after a while, it became clear that the beast's welfare was starting to suffer because of an absentee chief
00:39:34stockman.
00:39:35And it was costing the estate money.
00:39:38Ralph didn't seem to be making any effort to find himself a new job.
00:39:41Well, so, very reluctantly, I applied for a court order for the house, giving him six months to move out.
00:39:49Yes.
00:39:49And what effect did this have?
00:39:51None, so far as I could see.
00:39:53The Gibbs stayed put?
00:39:54That's right.
00:39:55Yes.
00:39:56Now, I want to ask you about the first alleged harassment on June 1st.
00:40:01Yes.
00:40:01What were you doing at 3 p.m. that day?
00:40:04I was showing the new owner of the estate, Mr. Bottomley, round the dairy complex.
00:40:08Some of it badly needed rewiring.
00:40:10So, I switched off the mains at about 3 o'clock in order to actually handle the cables myself,
00:40:16and show him what a poor state they were in.
00:40:18Yes.
00:40:18Did you realise that this would cut off the power to the Gibbs house as well?
00:40:21Quite frankly, I forgot.
00:40:23Anyway, it was all switched on again by half past 3.
00:40:25And then what happened?
00:40:28After about five minutes, Meg Gibbs came screaming into the yard,
00:40:34screeching at Mr. Bottomley and me at the top of her voice,
00:40:36saying I was persecuting them, hounding them, and so on.
00:40:40I thought she was talking about having only a month to go before the court order expired.
00:40:45It never occurred to me that she was talking about the electricity.
00:40:48So, she didn't mention electricity or sewage or water?
00:40:52No.
00:40:53Yes.
00:40:54So, what did you do?
00:40:55I told her to get out.
00:40:57And fast.
00:41:00And it was a couple of days later that I was reading my local paper,
00:41:04and I read about the terrible victimisation at St. Mary's Stokan Farm.
00:41:09I immediately went down there.
00:41:11I found there was nothing wrong with the electricity,
00:41:13but there was an airlock in the water system to the house.
00:41:17Yes.
00:41:17And how did you deal with that?
00:41:19I thumped it.
00:41:20With a milk churn.
00:41:21And that cured it?
00:41:23Within seconds.
00:41:26I saw the Gibbs garden tap suddenly gush.
00:41:30They must have left it on while they were wondering what was the matter.
00:41:32Sir, what was the next contact you had with Mr. or Mrs. Gibbs?
00:41:38That would be about a fortnight later on June the 17th.
00:41:43Yes, and what happened then?
00:41:45Well, my new senior stockman, Ken Clayton, woke me at about 5.30 in the morning to go and see
00:41:50127 whom he'd found dying.
00:41:53We worked on her for hours and called the vet.
00:41:57But it had gone too far, and he had to pull her down.
00:42:00Yes.
00:42:00Did the vet diagnose the cause of death there and then?
00:42:03Yes, he did.
00:42:04And it need never have reached that stage if there'd been a stockman on the site.
00:42:08Yes.
00:42:08So what did you do?
00:42:10I went straight across to the Gibbs' house.
00:42:13The front door was open.
00:42:15I went straight into the lounge and found Ralph Gibbs.
00:42:19I told him what had happened and why.
00:42:21And I asked him when he was going to comply with the court order to move out so that his
00:42:24successor could do the job properly.
00:42:27Did you kick the furniture?
00:42:29No.
00:42:29Of course not.
00:42:31Did you threaten Mr. or Mrs. Gibbs in any way?
00:42:35Absolute nonsense.
00:42:36No mention of putting the dog on to them or kicking the front door down?
00:42:40No.
00:42:41I was angry, I'll admit.
00:42:44But I did nothing to harass them in any way.
00:42:47Yes.
00:42:47How is it that the court order was never enforced?
00:42:50Well, I never intended to chuck them out.
00:42:53And in view of what happened to Mrs. Gibbs' baby, I...
00:42:57Yes.
00:42:57And the importance of that house to the proper running and care of the herd?
00:43:03We're managing, somehow.
00:43:06But only just.
00:43:08Yes.
00:43:09Thank you, Mr. Aldridge.
00:43:16That's a very moving story, Mr. Aldridge.
00:43:19It's what happened.
00:43:21The kind-hearted employer bends over backwards to do all that he can for the wicked and ungrateful servant
00:43:27who is now kicking him in the teeth, et cetera, et cetera.
00:43:33It wasn't like that at all, was it?
00:43:35It was as exactly as I've told the court.
00:43:38Yes, but there's so much that you haven't told the court, isn't there, Mr. Aldridge?
00:43:42How are you paid, for instance?
00:43:44How I'm paid?
00:43:45Yes, you said by monthly salary.
00:43:47Well, that's right.
00:43:47Only monthly salary?
00:43:49Well, I have a small share of the net profits, but that's only paid...
00:43:52Ah, you didn't mention that.
00:43:53So you have a financial interest in the efficient running of the farm?
00:43:56Well, of course, but then all farm managers...
00:43:58You said how much it was costing the estate to keep the Gibbs in their house.
00:44:02You omitted to say how much it was affecting your own pocket.
00:44:06It never crossed my mind.
00:44:08It never crossed your mind.
00:44:11Now, do you agree that as a farm manager, you are habitually arrogant and inconsiderate towards your men?
00:44:19You've got some strange notions.
00:44:21Well, it is a fact, is it not, that you have sacked a large number of men over the years?
00:44:26I've sacked men, yes.
00:44:28How many?
00:44:30Well, do you think the Forchester Office of the Department of Health and Social Security would have a reliable figure?
00:44:37I should think so, yes.
00:44:38Will you look at Exhibit 3, please?
00:44:42That is a letter from the Forchester Office of the Department of Health and Social Security,
00:44:46and it lists the men by name whom you sacked in the three years up to January of 1976.
00:44:52It looks like it, yes.
00:44:53Yes, the total is at the bottom.
00:44:55Would you read it out?
00:44:5731.
00:44:59How many men do you employ at any one time?
00:45:02About 30.
00:45:04That's a quite extraordinary turnover, isn't it?
00:45:07In fact, according to statistics prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture,
00:45:11that rate of dismissal is very nearly three times the national average.
00:45:16I can't afford to be sentimental about duds.
00:45:19Duds, Mr Aldridge?
00:45:20Particularly when farming is struggling to survive.
00:45:22Duds?
00:45:23Who chose them?
00:45:25Me, I suppose.
00:45:28Now tell me, why did you obtain an eviction order from the court, if you had no intention whatever of
00:45:38having it carried out?
00:45:39I wanted the gibbs to know I meant business.
00:45:42Well, that also seems most extraordinary.
00:45:44Not to mention a frightful waste of time for a heavily overworked court.
00:45:49Tell me, Mr Aldridge, have you had any dealings with the courts before on this matter of eviction?
00:45:57What?
00:45:58It was a perfectly simple question.
00:46:00In 1961, were you not convicted...
00:46:03Oh, Your Honour, is the Crown going to ride roughshod over all the rules of evidence?
00:46:07How can you justify it, Mr Lloyd?
00:46:09Well, Your Honour, the accused claimed that he had an untarnished record in this field, and it follows, therefore, that
00:46:15I have a right to refute that.
00:46:18I have no recollection of the dependent making any such claim.
00:46:21Well, Your Honour, I have a note that he was asked by my learned friend.
00:46:25The whole issue of tied cottages is an extremely thorny one, isn't it?
00:46:30To which he replied,
00:46:31Well, I've never had any trouble over them except from Ralph Gibbs.
00:46:35Now, I submit that this was a deliberate lie, and I wish to adduce evidence to show that.
00:46:41But, Your Honour, the law relating to eviction before the rent act was quite different...
00:46:44Your Honour, this is not a matter of substantive law.
00:46:47The accused claimed that he'd never had any trouble before with tied cottages, therefore...
00:46:51Therefore, I was 22 at the time and very inexperienced.
00:46:53Never...
00:46:54And under intolerable provocation.
00:46:56Yes, Mr Aldrich, nevertheless, you were convicted...
00:46:58Your Honour, there is no resemblance whatsoever between these two cases.
00:47:01Mr Aldrich, I order you not to interrupt.
00:47:05Yes, Mr Lloyd, you may continue.
00:47:09Were you convicted at Montgomery Assizes in May of 1961
00:47:16of actually throwing someone out of their tied cottage yourself
00:47:20and with considerable violence?
00:47:26Well?
00:47:29Yes.
00:47:31Yes.
00:47:55The cases in Forchester are fictitious.
00:47:58You can join us again tomorrow when the Queen against Aldrich will be concluded in the Crown Court.
00:48:03Yes.
00:48:05Yes.
00:48:30Yes, no, thank you.
00:48:34Ralph Gibbs was formerly senior stockman on St. Mary Stokan Farm near Forchester.
00:48:39A year ago he was sacked by the farm manager Mr. Aldrich, but he refused to leave his Tide Cottage.
00:48:44He claims that he was victimised and that Mr. Aldrich illegally harassed him and his wife to force them to
00:48:50move.
00:48:51Counsel for the prosecution has just revealed that in 1961 Mr. Aldrich was convicted of the illegal eviction of the
00:48:58tenant of another Tide Cottage.
00:49:02There is no resemblance whatsoever between the two cases.
00:49:05Nevertheless, you did evict someone yourself from a Tide Cottage and you used unlawful force to do so.
00:49:11Your Honour, I would like the chance to explain the difference between these-
00:49:13Your Honour, I don't see how the details of the case can amount to any more than an attempt to
00:49:17blur the issue,
00:49:18which is that the accused has not hesitated to use violent and unlawful tactics towards the occupiers of Tide Cottages
00:49:25in the past.
00:49:26Oh, I think that's a bit hard, Mr. Lloyd. The defendant mustn't leave the jury with a distorted picture.
00:49:32As Your Honour pleases.
00:49:34Mr. Aldrich?
00:49:37This happened on my father's farm. A family farm of 150 acres in North Wales.
00:49:44Four of us ran it. My father and me, a man called Willie Thomas, and a fourth man.
00:49:50The time came when we had to sack Willie, because he just stopped working.
00:49:57He took to lying in bed all day, drinking himself silly, absolutely useless.
00:50:04That meant that the remaining three of us had to share his work.
00:50:08A hundred hours a week.
00:50:11A killing pace.
00:50:14On a farm that was up to its ears in debt anyway.
00:50:18We couldn't get a replacement for Willie because we couldn't get his cottage back.
00:50:22He just stayed put, no matter what we did.
00:50:27And we tried everything.
00:50:30And one day, my father had a heart attack.
00:50:37Due directly to the gross overwork of having to do Willie's work too.
00:50:43Three days later, he died.
00:50:49On the afternoon of the funeral, I went up to Willie's cottage and I threw him out into the mud.
00:50:57And all his possessions too.
00:50:59He was drunk and he stank.
00:51:05That's what I was convicted for.
00:51:09Anyone would have done the same.
00:51:11No, Mr. Aldrich, they would not. Some would have observed the law.
00:51:16You were convicted of assault in connection with an unlawful eviction.
00:51:22Yes.
00:51:23Were you fined £100 and bound over to keep the peace?
00:51:27Yes.
00:51:28So you lost your temper and you used violence to throw a man out of his lawful dwelling.
00:51:34Now, whatever the provocation, no civilised society can tolerate that.
00:51:41What happened to the family farm?
00:51:43We sold up.
00:51:44Sold up, Mr. Aldrich.
00:51:45You went bankrupt, didn't you?
00:51:47Yes.
00:51:48Yes.
00:51:49And did not the official receiver's report say, inter alia,
00:51:52one factor which contributed to the insolvency was the inability of Mr. Robert Aldrich to retain his staff?
00:51:58Which appears to have been due to his somewhat cavalier attitude towards their welfare.
00:52:04That old fool never did an honest day's work on a real farm in his life.
00:52:09Insecurity of employment seems to have dogged you throughout your career, does it not?
00:52:14I don't know what you're talking about.
00:52:15Well, with St. Mary's Stoken Farm changing hands, was not your job as farm manager not somewhat in jeopardy?
00:52:21Of course not.
00:52:22But a change of ownership of a farm often brings with it a change of farm manager, does it not?
00:52:26Sometimes, yes.
00:52:27Yes, and you've told the court how much the continuing situation with the Gibbs was costing the estate,
00:52:31and that was a situation that you had allowed to come about.
00:52:34Well, I couldn't help that, could I?
00:52:35No, but it had happened during your farm management.
00:52:38Yes, but it was nothing directly to do with...
00:52:39But it could hardly have been expected then to impress your new employer.
00:52:43So, surely, it would have been very much in your interest to get rid of the Gibbs as fast as
00:52:48possible.
00:52:48On the contrary.
00:52:51They would have created even more stink in the press.
00:52:55Gibbs had been a thorn in your side for years, hadn't he?
00:52:58Yes.
00:52:59You've called him unreliable and a troublemaker.
00:53:01That's right.
00:53:02In what way was he a troublemaker?
00:53:04He became belligerent about all sorts of issues.
00:53:07Tide Cottages was only one of them.
00:53:09He became like an obsessive shop steward, holding lunchtime meetings of the farm staff, lecturing them on their rights,
00:53:15trying to organise a strike against August Bank Holiday, working, that kind of thing.
00:53:21Yes, these meetings, they were in the men's own time.
00:53:23Well, of course they were.
00:53:25To inform them of their rights under the law?
00:53:27Troublemaking.
00:53:28Bolshiness.
00:53:29But it was you who was being unreasonable.
00:53:31Most people do stop work on August Bank Holiday, after all.
00:53:35Most businesses can just stop the machines.
00:53:38But you can't stop animals needing to be fed, herds needing to be milked, the distribution of food to pigs...
00:53:43So you quarrelled with him over these issues?
00:53:46Yes.
00:53:46You grew to dislike him?
00:53:47He drove me wild.
00:53:49He drove you wild?
00:53:51Well, that's very interesting.
00:53:52Are you a man with a hasty temper?
00:53:54I don't think so.
00:53:55I think I'm a pretty tolerant one.
00:53:58Oh, really?
00:54:00Maybe show any exhibits two and four, please.
00:54:06Do you recognise those newspaper articles by Mr Spike Fox?
00:54:10Yes.
00:54:11What do you think of them?
00:54:13Trash.
00:54:14And lies.
00:54:15The picture they give, then, is a false one?
00:54:17A load of rubbish.
00:54:18Did you see the articles when they first appeared?
00:54:20Yes.
00:54:21What did you do about them?
00:54:23What the hell could I do about them?
00:54:25Well, you astonish me.
00:54:27Several extremely damaging articles appear in the press, giving details of your actions against the Gibbs.
00:54:32They don't mention me by name.
00:54:34Not by name, no.
00:54:34But they do mention St Mary's Stoke and Farms.
00:54:37They mention Mr and Mrs Gibbs and their house.
00:54:39The dairy complex.
00:54:41And they describe what happened to the Gibbs very fully.
00:54:43Now, even a child could infer that you were responsible.
00:54:46Yet you say you did nothing.
00:54:48Not even write a letter to the editor.
00:54:50Good God.
00:54:51I've got better things to do with my time.
00:54:54And what notice would editors take of a letter from me?
00:54:57Well, I should say a great deal.
00:54:58The Press Council are very hot on irresponsible editors.
00:55:02But, presumably, you did take legal advice about these articles.
00:55:06I didn't have the time.
00:55:08Of course, you didn't take advice.
00:55:09And the reason is clear to everyone in the court.
00:55:11It wasn't because you didn't have the time, but because the articles were true.
00:55:15Nonsense.
00:55:16And you knew that you hadn't the faintest hope of refuting them.
00:55:20In the incidents of June the 1st, for instance, are you seriously asking the court to believe
00:55:24that you forgot that cutting off the electricity supply to the dairy also cut it off to the Gibbs' home?
00:55:30Yes.
00:55:31Well, when did you realise what had happened?
00:55:33Well, a couple of days later, when I read it in the papers.
00:55:35Yes, whereupon you immediately rushed down to the Gibbs' house to make sure that they weren't being inconvenienced in any
00:55:40way?
00:55:41I wouldn't put it like that.
00:55:43No, I'm sure you wouldn't.
00:55:45Would you agree that the implication that you had cut off the electricity was extremely damaging to you?
00:55:50Well, it could be, yes.
00:55:51Yes, then why on earth didn't you take a witness with you when you went down to their house?
00:55:55A witness who could have confirmed that the supply was still connected.
00:56:00It never crossed my mind.
00:56:01It never crossed your mind.
00:56:04There's an awful lot that didn't cross your mind, Mr Aldrich.
00:56:07The inevitable consequences of your using threats and violence when you visited the Gibbs' home on June the 17th, for
00:56:14instance.
00:56:14I did not use violence.
00:56:16They both said you did.
00:56:17Well, they're lying.
00:56:18You're not a violent man?
00:56:20I'm a pretty tolerant one.
00:56:22Who does not use violence?
00:56:24No.
00:56:25Anyway, I'd be a fool under these circumstances.
00:56:29Just one last thing.
00:56:31Is your wife in court?
00:56:36What's my wife got to do with this?
00:56:38Just answer the question.
00:56:40Is your wife in court?
00:56:43No.
00:56:44Are you still married, Mr Aldrich?
00:56:47Your Honour, what possible relevance can the defendant's marriage have on a case of harassment?
00:56:51Yes, I must admit the connection eludes me, too.
00:56:54Your Honour, the grounds for the defendant's divorce are extremely relevant to this charge.
00:56:59I should be obliged if your Honour will allow me to continue this a little longer.
00:57:03I suppose we'd better.
00:57:05Your Honour, it seems to me-
00:57:06No, Mr Parsons, I think we should hear this.
00:57:09If it's relevant.
00:57:11I'm obliged.
00:57:12Well, Mr Aldrich, who divorced whom?
00:57:15My wife divorced me.
00:57:17On what grounds?
00:57:19A retrievable breakdown of marriage.
00:57:22Yes, of course, but due to what?
00:57:25Well, did you contest the action?
00:57:27Of course I did.
00:57:28And was not Mrs Gibbs the chief witness for your wife's action?
00:57:32And did she not give evidence of your persistent and unreasonable violence whenever you lost your temper?
00:57:38No connection with this case whatsoever.
00:57:41Blows, Mr Aldrich, shouting and threats and kicking the furniture.
00:57:48Did she not assert in evidence that whenever you lost your temper you used violence?
00:57:54Just as you did when you threw Willie Thomas out of his cottage into the mud against the law.
00:58:00Behaviour that no civilised society can tolerate and for which you were rightly and properly convicted.
00:58:05And you asked the court to believe that you would hesitate to harass the Gibbs in order to get rid
00:58:12of them whenever and however that opportunity arose.
00:58:17Everything you say is completely untrue.
00:58:22I'm sure the jury will have their own ideas about that.
00:58:28Does your honour have any questions?
00:58:30No.
00:58:31You may return to the dock, Mr Aldrich.
00:58:45I call Kenneth Clayton.
00:58:51You are Kenneth Clayton?
00:58:53Yes, sir.
00:58:54And you live at Park Cottage in Mary Stoken Farms, Stoken near Fultestown?
00:58:58That's right, sir.
00:58:59What is your occupation, Mr Clayton?
00:59:00I'm Senior Stockman at St Mary Stoken Farms.
00:59:03Yes.
00:59:04You are Ralph Gibbs, successor?
00:59:06Yeah, that's right, sir.
00:59:06Yes.
00:59:07Where is Park Cottage in relation to the dairy complex?
00:59:11It's about two and a half miles off.
00:59:12Yes.
00:59:13Why don't you live closer?
00:59:15Ah.
00:59:15Well, when the Gibbs move out of their house, you see, I should move into that.
00:59:18That's a Stockman's, though, see.
00:59:19That's what it should be.
00:59:20Yes.
00:59:20Is it convenient living so far away from the dairy complex?
00:59:24Yeah, it's all right, yeah.
00:59:27Yes.
00:59:28But should not the Stockman live as close to the animals as possible to do his job properly?
00:59:35Well, yeah, but it ain't the end of the world if he don't, is it?
00:59:42Have you ever been inside the Gibbs house, which you eventually are going to occupy?
00:59:49Yeah, once, yeah.
00:59:50And when was that?
00:59:51Ah, that was a day, er, one, two, seven died.
00:59:54Yes.
00:59:54I found her dying, see, right, sent from, er, Mr. Ulrich, and then he sent for the vet.
00:59:59Yes.
00:59:59That's how I put down.
01:00:01And then Mr. Ulrich says, er, right, he says, I'm going to see Ralph Gibbs about this, he says.
01:00:05And you coming off.
01:00:06So you went with him when he entered the house?
01:00:09Yeah.
01:00:10And what happened?
01:00:12Well, I can't remember.
01:00:16No, I mean, er, when Mr. Ulrich confronted Mr. Gibbs in his house.
01:00:24Yeah.
01:00:25What happened?
01:00:28Well, there was an argument.
01:00:31Fears?
01:00:32Well, a long time ago now, I can't remember much, except there was an argument.
01:00:42Mr. Clayton, do you understand the question?
01:00:46Yeah, yeah.
01:00:47The accused entered Mr. Gibbs' lounge and saw Mr. Gibbs.
01:00:51Do you remember that?
01:00:52Yeah.
01:00:53You saw that?
01:00:54Oh, yeah.
01:00:57And then what passed between them?
01:00:59Well, I don't remember much, except, er, well, Mr. Ulrich was very abusive.
01:01:05Well, I'm sorry, Your Honour.
01:01:11Oh, no.
01:01:12Now, Mr. Clayton, there was a time when you claimed to have remembered, wasn't there?
01:01:16Oh, you mean when I went to see Mr. Ulrich's solicitors?
01:01:18Yes.
01:01:20Yeah, but I can't remember now, though.
01:01:25Your Honour, I ask leave to treat this witness as hostile.
01:01:29Mr. Lloyd.
01:01:30Under the circumstances, Your Honour, I shall not object.
01:01:35Mr. Clayton, Mr. Parsons, who called you to give evidence for the accused, now has my leave to treat you
01:01:41as a hostile witness.
01:01:42Ah, what's that mean?
01:01:43It means that Mr. Parsons may now cross-examine you to try to ascertain why you appear to have changed
01:01:52sides.
01:02:03Did you, in August 3rd, 1976, go to the offices of Derring and King, solicit this to the defendant and
01:02:08make a statement?
01:02:09Yeah.
01:02:10Did you sign a typed copy of that statement as true and correct?
01:02:13Yeah, I signed it, yeah.
01:02:14As true and correct?
01:02:15Well, I suppose so, yeah.
01:02:17Now, is this it?
01:02:17Would you pass that to the witness, please?
01:02:21Is this the original statement?
01:02:28Yeah.
01:02:29With your signature at the bottom?
01:02:30Yeah, that's right, yeah.
01:02:31Dated and signed August 3rd, does it consist of your account of what happened when Mr. Aldrich met Mr. Gibbs
01:02:38in the lounge of Mr. Gibbs' house on June 17th when you were present?
01:02:42Yeah.
01:02:43Then how is it you were able to make such a clear statement then, yet are totally unable to remember
01:02:49what happened at that meeting now, except to say that Mr. Aldrich was abusive?
01:02:53Well, I've been thinking about it. I'm not nearly so sure now, that's all.
01:02:56You've been thinking about it?
01:02:57Yeah.
01:02:57Have you discussed this matter with anyone?
01:02:59What, you mean discuss what happened?
01:03:00Well, discuss what you're prepared to remember of what happened.
01:03:03Well, I might have done, you know, friends and that, yeah.
01:03:05Yes.
01:03:06Is Ralph Gibbs a friend of yours?
01:03:08Yeah, I met him, yeah.
01:03:09In his home?
01:03:10Yeah.
01:03:10And on the farm?
01:03:12Yeah, when he handed over to me, yeah.
01:03:13Is he a friend?
01:03:16Well, not a particular one, no.
01:03:18Has he ever discussed this matter with you?
01:03:20Well, I think he might have mentioned it, yeah.
01:03:22You think he might have mentioned it, but you can't recall for certain?
01:03:25No, not really.
01:03:26No.
01:03:26What about union meetings?
01:03:28Eh?
01:03:28Did you attend your local union meetings and meet him there too?
01:03:32Yeah, yeah, I think so, yeah.
01:03:33Yes.
01:03:34How active a member are you of the Farm Workers Union?
01:03:36Well, I'm a member.
01:03:38Yeah, but how active?
01:03:39Are you a committee member?
01:03:40Well, I do what I can, you know.
01:03:41Are you on the Regional Executive Committee?
01:03:44Yeah.
01:03:46Now, what part have you taken in the campaign to abolish the Tide Cottage System?
01:03:50Well, we all want that, don't we?
01:03:51Answer the question.
01:03:54Well, I took part in a lot of the MPs, but, er, I mean, I'm not on a Tide Cottage
01:03:59Subcommittee
01:03:59or anything like that.
01:04:02Now, Mr Clayton, will you now please read the statement, er, that you made to the defendant's solicitor?
01:04:08Oh, Your Honor, I must object to this.
01:04:10It is a cardinal tenant of our whole judicial system that witnesses are available for examination
01:04:15and cross-examination where there is a conflict of evidence.
01:04:19If the witness simply cannot remember, then that rule simply cannot be operated.
01:04:24And heaven knows it's by no means unusual for a case to take many months to come before the courts
01:04:28nowadays.
01:04:28This, er, witness's loss of memory is rather bizarre, Mr Lloyd.
01:04:32I think Mr Parsons is entitled to put his original statement to him.
01:04:36It may serve to jog his memory.
01:04:39Er, Your, Your Honor, it would be quite novel for such a statement to be admitted.
01:04:42It, it would then follow that if any witness's memory was at fault,
01:04:45his counsel could apply to have his original statement to the solicitor read out instead,
01:04:50a statement on which he could not be cross-examined,
01:04:53if he still couldn't remember any more clearly as a result.
01:04:55Oh, I don't think that follows at all, Mr Lloyd.
01:04:58I think we should hear the statement.
01:05:00His evidence may be due to a little more than mere loss of memory.
01:05:06Will Your Honor make a note of my objection?
01:05:08Oh, I will, certainly, if you will.
01:05:11Mr Parsons.
01:05:12Your Honor, now, Mr Clayton, will you please read the statement?
01:05:26At, er, 3pm on Tuesday, June the 17th,
01:05:29Mr Robert Ulrich asked me to accompany him to Mr Gibbs' house.
01:05:32This was about 10.30am.
01:05:34The front door was open, so we walked into the lounge
01:05:37where Mr Gibbs was sitting watching the television.
01:05:39Mr Gibbs and Mr Ulrich then began to argue about
01:05:42when Mr Gibbs was going to leave the house.
01:05:45Mr Gibbs almost immediately lost his temper and began to shout and push Mr...
01:05:48Ah, ah, Mr Clayton, the jury would like to hear this.
01:05:52If you could just go back a little, a little louder please.
01:05:55Ah.
01:05:58Mr Gibbs almost immediately lost his temper and began to shout
01:06:01and push Mr Ulrich in the chest with his right hand.
01:06:04Mr Gibbs entered at this point and began to scream.
01:06:08Mr Ulrich was angry but tried to make Mr Gibbs listen to what he was trying to say to him.
01:06:13I was standing by the window at this time.
01:06:15At no point did Mr Ulrich strike or kick any person or object
01:06:19and at no stage did he say anything of a threatening or abusive nature.
01:06:24When it became clear that Mr and Mrs Gibbs were not going to listen,
01:06:27Mr Ulrich turned his back and walked out and I followed.
01:06:38Now you've read that out, Mr Clayton, do you remember the scene it describes?
01:06:44Well, I can't honestly say I do, no.
01:06:46I've got a very bad memory for that sort of thing,
01:06:48especially after Walter's flown under the bridge.
01:06:50After what?
01:06:51Well, I mean, it was a long time ago now, wasn't it?
01:06:55When you made that statement, were you still seeking employment for Mr Ulrich?
01:06:59No, no, I don't think so.
01:07:01Were you seeking any favours of any sort from him?
01:07:07A larger cottage, perhaps?
01:07:10A bigger wage?
01:07:13I can, of course, recall Mr Ulrich on these points.
01:07:17No, no, nothing like that, Your Honour.
01:07:19Mr Parsons?
01:07:20Your Honour.
01:07:22Just four weeks ago, Mr Clean, did you accept nomination as a candidate for the regional chairmanship of your union?
01:07:31Yeah, but there's no connection.
01:07:32Well, are you contesting the chairmanship?
01:07:35Yeah.
01:07:35Does your success depend on a popular vote by the ordinary membership?
01:07:39Yeah, that's right.
01:07:39And is your union as a whole opposed to the tied cottage system?
01:07:43Yeah, of course we are, right.
01:07:44So, it would scarcely improve your chances of winning the election to be seen in support of a farm on
01:07:49a tied cottage incident over a matter of harassment, would it?
01:07:52Oh, well, that may be so, but it would be a bloody fool to stand here and say I could
01:07:54remember if I couldn't.
01:07:56But that would be perjury.
01:07:59You wouldn't want me to stand here and say that I can remember if I honestly can't, would you?
01:08:03Would you, My Honour?
01:08:04No, I would not.
01:08:07Any more questions, Mr Parsons?
01:08:12No, Your Honour.
01:08:13Mr Lloyd.
01:08:16No, Your Honour.
01:08:18You may leave the witness box, Mr Clayton.
01:08:22That is the case for the defence, Your Honour.
01:08:26Members of the jury, it is my duty to instruct you as to the law in this matter.
01:08:33That, at any rate, is straightforward.
01:08:35The defendant is accused of harassment under the Rent Act of 1965.
01:08:39That is to say, he is accused of doing acts calculated to interfere with the peace or comfort of the
01:08:47residential occupier or his household,
01:08:49or withdrawing services reasonably required for the occupation of the premises as a residence in an attempt to make the
01:08:57occupier leave.
01:08:58The learned counsel have rightly gone into the background of the dispute between the defendant and Mr Gibbs in order
01:09:06to show that certain witnesses may have had ulterior motives for not telling you the whole truth.
01:09:14Now, the prosecution allege two instances of harassment.
01:09:21Now, the first is the claim that the water, electricity and surrage to the Gibbs' house were cut off deliberately
01:09:32by the defendant in order to harass them.
01:09:35Now, here, there is a straight conflict of evidence, and you must decide which version is the true one.
01:09:42Now, the second instance, which took place on June the 17th, was when the defendant entered the home of Mr
01:09:53and Mrs Gibbs and, it is alleged, threatened them in various ways.
01:09:58Here again, there is a straight conflict of evidence.
01:10:03Now, remember, if the defendant simply lost his temper, then that would be no crime.
01:10:11But, if he actually threatened them with unpleasant consequences, if they did not leave, then that would be.
01:10:20Now, I must warn you that the merits or demerits of the tied cottage system should not concern you in
01:10:28arriving at your verdict.
01:10:29You should not exercise any sympathies you may feel on that topic one way or the other, on the evidence.
01:10:38And on that alone, you must arrive at your verdict.
01:10:42Now, remember, the prosecution must satisfy you so that you feel sure the offence has been committed before you can
01:10:55return a verdict of guilty.
01:10:57Any reasonable doubt resolves the case in favour of the defendant.
01:11:04Will you please now retire and consider your verdict?
01:11:08All stand.
01:11:15Will the foreman please stand?
01:11:18Now, just answer this question, yes or no.
01:11:22Have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed?
01:11:25No.
01:11:29Have at least ten of you agreed upon your verdict?
01:11:32Yes.
01:11:33Yes.
01:11:33And what is your verdict?
01:11:35Please answer, guilty or not guilty.
01:11:39Not guilty.
01:11:42Very well.
01:11:44You may go.
01:12:14The cases in Crown Court are fictitious.
01:12:17Can our cameras return to bring you another leading case from the Crown Court?
01:12:21No.
01:12:23No.
01:12:25No.
01:12:27No.
01:12:33While relatively.
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