The High Court has dismissed an appeal by two companies disputing the legal costs they were ordered to pay the government.
Baccarat Limited and Morland Enterprises had challenged a ruling requiring them to cover the Cabinet Office’s legal fees at £300 per hour for work carried out by government lawyers.
They argued the government should not be able to claim these costs since no money changed hands between departments.
However, the court rejected the appeal, stating there was no legal error in the original decision.
Jude of Appeal Anthony Cross KC said the long-standing practice of treating government lawyers as “in-house” was reasonable, adding that forcing departments to create artificial billing systems would be “unworkable” and “pointlessly bureaucratic”.
The ruling referenced previous cases, including one where a judge warned against pushing legal principles to a point that “ceases to give results consistent with justice”.
The court concluded the appeal had no merit, upholding the original costs order.
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