Better Transport

Win hearts and minds
Keeping up with the publicity war is extraordinarily important to win hearts and minds locally and regionally and to erode political support for the scheme. You should aim to have a rolling programme of publicity throughout the inquiry period. Inquiries offer an opportunity to score lots of points and expose lots of information. Never forget: ultimately the decision to go ahead will be political.

Because the other side will be focused on fighting the inquiry, you have the opportunity to run circles around them in terms of publicity.

Divide your campaign team into those who will prepare the evidence and fight the inquiry, and those who will support the campaign with a rolling programme of publicity. People present at the inquiry should feed information to the people focusing on publicity so that press releases can be rushed out. Having transcripts of the inquiry can really help here. Coordination in the campaign is key.

You can have great fun with inquiries in terms of press releases:

• The inquiry opening may well be covered by the local and regional media, and so you should aim to have your supporters at the inquiry location with campaign banners, which make great television pictures
• As issues emerge you should aim to release them into the media. Your press releases could have headlines like "Council admits road will increase traffic" one week, and "Highways Agency admits the damage to environment will be even worse than previously admitted" the next

Giving evidence
You will be positioned at a table next to the Inspector at the front of the inquiry hall. You will then read a summary of your proof of evidence. Don't get flustered and do everything in your own time. Keep your evidence short and relevant, and don't ramble.

Cross-examination
You can cross-examine the other side and their witnesses and your own witnesses, and they can cross-examine you and your witnesses.

Cross-examining
It's obvious but don’t embark on cross-examination of the other side unless you know exactly what you want to get out of it, and how you are going to do it.

Have clear questions prepared that should lead the witnesses to say what you want them to say. Never ask a question that you don't already know the answer to. Also never ask open-ended questions as this will simply allow the other side to spout a pre-prepared speech about the benefits of the proposal.

Cross-examination can go very wrong, but it can also go spectacularly right. It needs planning and a strategy. You can lead a witness for the other side to concede an important point that devastates their own case.

You also get a chance to examine your own witnesses, and this is your opportunity to allow them to shine. The above tips still apply though – prepare and think about what you want to achieve and coordinate with your witness.

Being cross-examined
Barristers vary but in an inquiry they are renowned for being quite ruthless and unkind with witnesses, especially experts. If you are 'on the stand' don’t be intimidated by them, and don't allow them to make you get angry or flustered.

It is a good idea to take a breath and pause before answering. This allows you valuable seconds to think before giving a considered answer.

It's obvious but don't give evidence unless you know exactly what you are talking about! Know all your facts and be sure of your case.

If you feel you haven’t been able to say clearly what you meant, then stop the barrister and ask for the opportunity to clearly state what you want to say. Don't allow them to put words in your mouth.

Summing up
At the end of the inquiry you will be given a chance to give a closing statement which should be clear, concise and powerful. Aim to impress the key facts on the inspector, especially key evidence that has emerged through the inquiry. Prepare this well. The proponent goes last and has the final say.