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I have just posted a comment to another article in this same edition of the Gazette - "Does what it says on the tin" - Lord Chancellor praises business courts rebrand.

I wholeheartedly agree with Lord Newberger's analysis. That ordinary people cannot get in to court to enforce their rights is a disgrace, and the rule of law has been lost. That is one half of the story. The other half of the story is what has been done with the business courts, encouraging international dispute resolution to come to England and Wales and use our courts. That work is sexy, so is being encouraged. The rest i.e. the ordinary man on the street - oh well, that apparently can go.

Lord Neuberger comments on the 1999 Act, that we took a wrong turning then, and that it was on the basis of an assertion which is now open to doubt. Yes, he is right on both counts.

But - we warned at the time, didn't we? All sorts of groups sent in responses at the time to try and reverse government thinking on this. We warned and warned till we were all blue in the face that this was the wrong way to go. We were ignored. And now here we are .........