The goings on in a Public Inquiry (PI) are not quite ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’, but it is still a formal and legal process with all its associated technical terms and references.
My understanding of the most commonly used terms are:
Examination-in chief – the witness’s barrister leads him/her through the evidence they wish the PI to hear
Cross-examination – the witness is then asked questions by opposing parties; for example here at the Lydd PI John Day was asked questions by Mr Village QC, the Airport’s barrister
Re-examination – the witness’s barrister then has an opportunity to revisit the evidence to clarify points raised in cross-examination
Purdah – if the PI has to adjourn for lunch or overnight, the witness is not allowed to discuss the case with his/her barrister or other colleagues
After 6 hours on the stand, today saw the completion of John Day’s evidence on the importance of Dungeness to birds and how the airport expansion could affect them. Bob Gomes, RSPB Area Manager for Dungeness, has now taken over the ‘hot seat’.
Bob has spent his whole working career in conservation, primarily relating to birds and the management of nature reserves. He joined the RSPB in 1973 and has been involved a variety of roles over that time. Bob is also an excellent wildlife photographer and has a particular interest in butterflies, bees and wasps, and of course birds – of which many wonderful and rare examples are found on the RSPB’s nature reserve at Dungeness
Bob’s evidence will concentrate on the importance of the reserve for wildlife and people, including the local children who regularly visit the site with their schools. He will outline his concerns about the potential impact of an expanded airport on the visitor experience and educational value of the reserve.
I have been here all week helping out and watching proceedings and do not envy Bob being in the ‘hot seat’ giving evidence. It must be a nerve wracking experience and I believe takes a special kind of person to do this! In fact, I am humbled by all my colleagues in the RSPB team here in Folkestone – the long hours they have been putting in to make sure our evidence is the very best it can be takes incredibly hard work and attention to the minutest of detail. We are likely to adjourn after Bob’s ‘examination-in-chief’, so he doesn’t have to be in purdah over the weekend. I wish Bob and the rest of the team a well deserved rest over the weekend before the Inquiry resumes on Tuesday morning.
Samantha Dawes