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Quizzing mums over toxic waste 'made things worse'

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Deans Court Chambers Stephen Grime with medium-length dark hair and glasses, wearing a dark jacket and white shirt with thin dark stripesDeans Court Chambers
Stephen Grime KC's practice involved "complex civil litigation"

The barrister who represented Corby Borough Council in the toxic waste court hearings says the questions he put to parents of children with birth defects "probably made things worse".

Stephen Grime KC has spoken out for the first time about his role in the case for a BBC audio documentary series released to coincide with the release of a Netflix TV drama based on the story.

Mr Grime said cross-examining mothers had been "the worst aspect" of the case.

A group of Corby parents took the council to court in 2010 over birth deformities linked to the clear-up of the town's steelworks.

During the court hearings, Mr Grime told the High Court the numbers of children with deformities in Corby was "normal" for the town's size.

He also told the court there was a danger in being seduced by the idea of "clusters of cases".

Looking back for the BBC series In Detail: The Toxic Waste Scandal, Mr Grime said the "worst aspect was having to cross-examine mothers of the children - women who suffered deeply.

"In some instances, I had to suggest to them that their memories about the dust or what the lorries were doing - things like that - were wrong."

Getty Images Line-up of families in front of steps to Law Society restaurant. Five of the group are children. They are wearing casual clothing.Getty Images
Corby Borough Council reached a settlement with families in the case

He added that his role was particularly difficult "when one knows very well that the witness you have is an honest person who's had a terrible time; whose child is injured; whose whole family's had a terrible time.

"The questioning probably did make things worse."

He revealed that he had since read some parts of the court transcript but "this is one bit that I just haven't felt that I wanted to go back to because I feared I would find that maybe I had been somewhat brusque or somewhat difficult when maybe I shouldn't have been.

"But you can't change things after so very long."

PA Media Large circular chimney with smaller gasometer alongside and another chimney in the background. There are houses dwarfed by the structures in the foreground.PA Media
The iron and steelworks in Corby, photographed shortly before their closure in 1980, was a major employer in the town

Mr Grime prepared 140 points of appeal against the court's decision that the council was negligent, but a settlement was reached with the families and the appeal was dropped.

He said the appeal document was not only the longest he had ever drafted, but also the longest he had ever seen.

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