There was very nearly a nasty accident at the Motor Accident Solicitors Society conference in Manchester last week. As he waited to enter the lion’s den with a speech to delegates, Zurich’s motor claims manager Derek McCann disappeared from view. There was a hushed pause as the audience wondered whether it was part of his act.

But McCann had found the edge of the stage and abruptly fallen off the back of it. As MASS chair Craig Budsworth saliently noted: ‘It’s lucky you’re here and not at the APIL conference.’ Fortunately, McCann was unharmed by the fall, so there was no need to further exacerbate the compensation culture.