Lord Justice Elias was in full flow when the clerk stopped him mid-sentence. ‘I’m afraid the shorthand writer has disappeared,’ said the clerk, looking like a sous-chef who’d just informed Gordon Ramsey the salmon was off.

It only added to the tension, as a packed Court One of the Royal Courts of Justice waited on a judgment that would potentially break hundreds of law firms across the country. By the time the shorthand writer was found, and LJ Elias returned, he might as well have been wearing a black cap.

For his verdict was as decisive and – for claimant lawyers – as devastating as you could imagine.

It is simply not the business of the courts to meddle in the world of political lobbying, he said. Whatever happened that Valentine’s Day in 2012, when David Cameron invited/summoned (depending on whom you’re listening to) insurers to tea at Downing Street, it was not for him to intervene.

Elias’ conclusion was that the reduction in fees was a done deal long before the summit. In effect, the Downing Street soiree was purely for Cameron to wag a finger and tell insurers to reduce premiums. It will be intriguing to see how effective he has been in a year’s time.

Having sat through the entire day’s court proceedings, it was pretty clear from the start that there were few legal arguments with which APIL and MASS could win. The process by which costs were reduced may well stink. You may well be furious that claimants were left off the guest list for the Valentine’s Day meeting.

But however murky the world of political lobbying may be, this was not unlawful. As the government’s James Eadie QC pointed out, there really was no statutory duty to consult on this issue – and in effect, ministers had already made it perfectly clear fees were a target long before 14 February.