The Treasury must be rolling in the aisles...as miners lose out..

The Court of Appeal have upheld the defeat inflicted on aging miners seeking to sue HMG as successor to the nationalised coal employers for their dodgy knees, allegedly caused by years down pit.  If successful, this could have cost the Treasury millions - but it looks dead and buried now....unless the Supreme Court can ride to the rescue - but given that this limitation decision was decided in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment ending the Nuclear Test Veterans litigation (another win for the cash strapped Treasury) this seems unlikely.  The Court was particularly effusive about the trial judge: Grenfell, the old DCJ of Leeds and W.Yorks:

I cannot part with this case without paying tribute to the judge. It is I hope apparent from what I have already said in my judgment that I regard Judge Grenfell's judgment as a tour de force. Not only has he deployed to good advantage his own great experience in the field but he has also given extremely conscientious consideration to the mass of evidence placed before him insofar as it bore both on the generic issues and on the case of each lead Claimant individually. His careful and exhaustive judgment has made our own task immeasurably easier than it might otherwise have been.

Another amazing tour de force on the same topic is Swift J's amazing 250 page judgment in the Phurnacite group action litigation - again the Treasury come out saving some money, although they go down on some expensive issues - no doubt it will all end up in the C of A.  Have liked Swift J (AKA Lady Oppenshaw, for they are a High Court spousal double act) ever since she assisted her old pupil mistress, Dame Janet Smith, as Counsel to the Shipman Inquiry - she has the northern silk quality which money can't buy.......