PM attacks 'perverse' culture of compensation

Tony Blair today declared war on Britain's "perverse" compensation culture.

The Prime Minister called for an end to expensive and "utterly disproportionate" payouts for minor claims.

In a major speech, he said it was time to replace the compensation culture with a "common sense culture".

And he demanded an overhaul of the way government, town halls and European institutions deal with risk.

Mr Blair said the over-cautious approach had resulted in "a plethora of rules and guidelines" which had "utterly perverse consequences".

"We are in danger of having a wholly disproportionate attitude to the risk we should expect to run as a normal part of life," he said in speech at the University of Central London.

Mr Blair's call for a more "sensible approach" follows growing public anger over a series of expensive payouts for relatively minor complaints.

Recent examples include a music teacher awarded ?40,000 after complaining of "over exposure to musical instruments" and another teacher awarded ?2,100 after breaking her finger when it was trapped between a door and a filing cabinet.