Using ''Without Prejudice'' letter in court

This isn''t a question, more a description of what happened in my case. I searched and searched at the time but could not find a definitive answer to my problem, so hope this may, in the future, help others.

My ex''s solicitor headed a letter ''without prejudice'' and, at the end of the letter, included an offer to settle. I also replied referring to the offer.

The definition of without prejudice I found was that there must be a dispute, and the letter/email etc must be an offer to settle that dispute without it being able to be seen later by another party.

When my case came to court, I needed to write a witness statement. As part of my evidence I wanted to attach the without prejudice letters as they both contained information other than the offer which was relevant to my statement.

So, could I use them? As I said before I couldn''t find a definitive answer (most sites simply said no you can''t use a without prejudice letter). What I eventually, was to remove the offer by sticking paper over it with the word REDACTED written on, and photocopying it. The offer was now obliterated.

When the judge got to the evidence, she saw the statement ''without prejudice'' and asked if she could read them. I explained what I had done, the other side''s barrister then read the letters and confirmed that it was OK for her to read them.

I was therefore able to use a crucial piece of evidence which hopefully will help my case (judgement not yet handed down!)

Good to know thanks. I had a similar query on my mind which this has helped answer!