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Letter from Ms Geraldine Proudler of Olswang
to Counsel to the Inquiry
Thank you for your fax. I am sorry that I was
not in the office to speak to you when you called, but I have
been in conferences with counsel and The Guardian in preparation
for a trial starting next week.
Both your fax, and more obviously Sir Gordon
Downey's letter of yesterday to Mr Rusbridger, appear to suggest
that the Parliamentary inquiry cannot progress without further
information from The Guardian and from me. If I may say
so, this is clearly not the case. In his reply to Sir Gordon,
Mr Rusbridger has set out the general position of The Guardian,
and it may clarify matters if I set out the position as I see
it in relation to the two principal elements of the inquiry:
1. The complaint against Mr Hamilton
You are in possession of all of the documents
we are able to give you relating to Mr Hamilton. We have also
provided you with detailed indexes, prepared specifically to assist
your inquiry, which identify all relevant documents in existence
(many of which are no longer in our possession). If these indexes
have been used to follow up and obtain any documents we were
unable to supply, you will be in possession of all necessary
information in relation to Mr Hamilton. Sir Gordon stated in his
letter to Mr Rusbridger that "it was only in mid December
that we received confirmation from Geraldine Proudler that we
could rely on the draft Amended Defence for the allegations against
Mr Hamilton", but of course this confirmation was only requested
by Sir Gordon on 5 December. I repeat the confirmation I gave
you on 12 December that the draft Amended Statement of Claim
sets out all of the principal elements of the claim against Mr
Hamilton, and those matters can be regarded as the basis of the
complaint. As far as I am aware the inquiry into Mr Hamilton's
activities could be completed shortly and the report published
without any further delay.
2. The complaints against other MPs
You are aware that the principal difficulty
in relation to these complaints is that many of them are based
on information which we obtained from documents supplied on discovery
or pursuant to court orders. We have returned all of the relevant
documents to their owners, principally Mr Hamilton and Mr Greer.
To assist you in obtaining these documents we have provided the
indexes referred to above, and in addition to this in my letter
of 17 December to Sir Gordon Downey I identified by reference
to the indexes, the most crucial documents relating to payments
to MPs. I anticipate therefore that you will have obtained this
primary evidence which is no longer available to The Guardian.
I am delighted to hear that our suggestion two
months ago of a meeting to discuss any further queries has been
accepted, and I confirm that I am available tomorrow afternoon
and would be pleased to welcome you at our office where we will
have access to all documents remaining in our possession, and
can provide you with further copies of any additional information
you would find helpful. I have also agreed to provide you with
narrative summaries (which will obviously have to be without
the benefit of the supporting documents which are already available
to you) summarising the complaints against the other MPs whom
you mention in your letter, and I will try to ensure that these
are completed in time for our meeting tomorrow. May I suggest
that we arrange the meeting for 3 pm, but if this is not convenient
please let me know.
Geraldine Proudler
9 January 1997
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