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I'm absolutely certain that the public would back calls to curb legal costs. They have probably been asked "would you rather we spent money on legal fees or on health care?".

Isn't it about time someone explained why there are so many claims and, more importantly in this context, why they cost so much to litigate? If the answer as to costs is "because of how the NHS Litigation Authority conducts the case" then this should appear on the letter head of all medical negligence law firms so clients are properly informed.

I do think that a move to a Tribunal process, funded by the Department for Health but run by HMCTS, where claims can be assessed by medical experts with a prognosis identified and any necessary future treatment and care agreed followed by compulsory Arbitration as to compensation and funding including the payment of the claimant's legal costs would be a better and hopefully quicker system.

Indeed, if one looks at the debates in 1948 in relation to legal aid, despite what the MoJ propagandists have said about legal aid having expanded into areas in which it was not originally intended, Tribunals were supposed to be covered by legal aid. Apparently in 1948 MPs, including Conservative and Liberal MPs, understood the need for people with claims to be properly represented. Them were the days.