Speaking in the House of Lords in the civil litigation reform debate yesterday Lord McNally ruled out banning the practice known as Third Party Capture.

He said ‘Third-party contact does not, in itself, cause detriment to consumers and may be to their advantage as a claim can often be resolved quickly.

‘In addition, this practice can allow insurers to reduce the legal costs associated with handling a claim, and this in turn reduces costs for all policyholders.’

Lord McNally was reacting to Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Thomas of Gresford, who had tabled an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill calling for the practice to be banned.