MPs have let their constituents down

Comment by Qamar Anwar, managing director, First4Lawyers

"It’s hugely frustrating that the government’s wholesale attack on innocent injury victims remains unchallenged. MPs have let their constituents down by failing to halt reforms that only serve to line the pockets of the powerful insurance lobby.

"What’s more, the public have no idea what’s coming their way; our own research showed just 18% knew of the government’s plans. That said, the bill can’t be implemented without secondary legislation so the government should be on stand-by that this is not yet a 'done-deal'. We’ll be refocusing our campaigning efforts now on the secondary legislation.

"There’s also the added problem of the proposed online portal. The government does not have a happy history in implementing such projects and the likelihood of it being ready for use by thousands of consumers from April 2020 is slim.

"We’ll be watching this closely and looking for assurances from the government that the portal is fit for purpose from day one. If they can’t guarantee this, then they’ll need to swallow their pride and move the implementation date back."