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I hate to say it as a former PI lawyer who pulled out once I was expected to buy business but I think it's time to remove low value claims from lawyers altogether, and let them be decided by an independent panel.

When I began practising, 30+ years ago, solicitors could generally be trusted to play by the rules. They didn't grossly exaggerate claims, they didn't grossly exaggerate costs and insurers, perhaps surprisingly, also generally behaved fairly.

Most claims were settled much more efficiently than they are today without all the mountain of cr@p that followed the abolition of legal aid and the introduction of CFA's.

CFA's were the worst thing to happen to PI claims, and possibly the worst thing to happen to the profession generally. They were a licence to print money and introduced a new breed of solicitors who were greedy and dishonest. And in their wake came a vile army of hangers on, such as medical agencies, credit hire operators, claims management companies and so on. The whole `industry' became deeply corrupt.

These solicitors and their co-conspirators were no longer bound by anything as absurd as professional ethics, and it was their sole mission in life to screw the system rotten.

In the circumstances it was quite right for the insurers to fight back, and despite being nominally on the other side of the fence I'm very glad that they did. I'm also very glad that the government did take steps to turn off the flow of cash to the crooks who ruined this part of our profession.

The hand-wringing and bleating about claimants being denied access to justice is just hypocritical cant. All this lot really care about is their own access to cash The claimants are just a means to that end.

I hope they are seen for what they are, and that their case is unceremoniously booted out.