The measures, which are intended to limit rises in car insurance, include removing the right to general damages for minor soft-tissue injuries sustained in motor accidents. Mr Osbourne also intends to transfer personal injury claims of up to £5,000 to the small claims court, to cut legal costs.

Earnings concern

Slater & Gordon has said in a regulatory filing that is doesn’t expect the proposals will affect its earnings in 2016. But Gareth James, an analyst at investment research firm Morningstar Inc., commented: ‘There’s a lot of concern around exactly what the earnings are going to be in their UK business.’

Investigations

It’s been a rocky year for Slater & Gordon, with the fall on Thursday extending the firm’s slide this year to 84 per cent. In June, it announced it had misreported UK cash flows and was replying to queries from Australia’s market regulator over its audit process. Investor confidence has also been shaken by concerns the firm overpaid for Quindell Plc’s personal services division, and by the announcement in June that the Financial Conduct Authority had opened an investigation into Quindell’s accounting. Sources: Bloomberg Business; The Telegraph