Axa UK said it would stop accepting referral fees from personal injury lawyers, following a report into the “racket” by former Justice Secretary Jack Straw.
Straw’s report, published in The Times in June, uncovered evidence of motor insurers selling on personal information to claims management firms and lawyers. A senior insurance executive told Straw it was “the industry’s dirty secret”.

The Bar Council has called for a ban on referral fees. It opposed the Legal Services Board’s “surprising and disappointing” decision in May to reject an outright ban. Under the Bar Standards Board code of conduct, barristers are prohibited from making or receiving payments in order to obtain work.