Obiter was reminded of Roald Dahl’s The Witches last week, when a small boy is led into a room full of snarling crones and turned into a mouse.

Of course no such fate awaited the Motor Accidents Solicitors Society chairman Craig Budsworth as he stepped into the lion’s den of the Association of British Insurers conference.

Not quite. In fact, despite being cast in the role of pantomime villain, Budsworth gave an impressive performance on a panel of insurers, defendant lawyers and consumer groups. He even raised a laugh from the pin-striped insurers when asked where he’d be in a year’s time. ‘Hamilton Road, Chorley,’ he responded, before pausing for effect: ‘My local job centre.’