Minister under pressure over Lloyd's stake

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly faces questions over concerns that he stands to gain personal financial benefit from changes to the ‘no win, no fee’ system he is piloting through Parliament.

According to the House of Commons register of members interests, revealed by the ‘Guardian’ newspaper, Djanogly is a minority partner in Lloyd’s member The Djanogly Family Limited Liability Partnership.

The justice minister, who is responsible for the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, openly lists his interest in the family firm on his MP’s website.

The LLP’s latest set of Companies House results show that it wrote £2.67m worth of gross written premium in 2010 and that it made a profit of £47,784 last year compared to £580,943 in 2009.

The Huntingdonshire MP also has shares in Amlin, according to the Commons register.

Labour shadow justice minister Andrew Slaughter said: “There are serious questions for the minister to answer. It would be a serious matter if the minister were pursuing legislation from which he might benefit personally.”

In a statement, Djanogly said: “My financial interests are a matter of public record. I have made declarations both as a Minister and as an MP. The Government’s reforms to the no win no fee system are designed to tackle the fear of a compensation culture which inflates legal costs and forces defendants to settle even when they know they have done nothing wrong. The reforms are based on an independent review by Sir Rupert Jackson.”