Government plans to introduce a compensation bill to get their piece of the pie:

Tired of lawyers and company directors sucking all the milk from the compensation cash cow, the government is to introduce the 'Compensation Bill'. This bill will be sent to every claims management company that deals with personal injury compensation claims in the UK. Depending on how large the firm is and how many claims they handle will depend on the size of the bill.

Firms that generate less than half a million from personal injury claims will receive a compensation bill for £400 from the government. Firms generating less than a million pay £600, with those turning over more than a million each year being charged £800.

Many leading lawyers have criticised the government publicly for, what it sees as, mob-style-tactics:

"There is no danger to the public anymore now that firms like Claims Direct and The Accident Group are a thing of the past. They (the government) are demanding money with the threat that they will put us out of business if we don't pay. This is simply a throwback to the days of protection money scams."

When asked to justify the thinking behind billing compensation claim companies solely for existing, a government spokesperson stated:

"No-one likes claims companies so we thought no-one would mind us charging them money for existing. So far we seem to be right. Not a single complaint has been registered by the public since we announced the plan."

With over 2000 claims companies in the UK this move will bring in between £1-£2 million a year. When asked what the extra revenue would be spent on the government spokesperson muttered something about a hospital appointment and ran off.