‘WE’RE WATCHING YOU’
Spy on the claimant. Personal injury defendants still do it. Whether or not surveillance evidence will be admitted generally comes down to whether or not it would amount to an ambush. And so it was in the recently decided Middleton v Carnival Plc t/a P&O Cruises [2026] EWHC 235 (KB), in which the defendant was applying to admit under CPR 32.1 (and coming after Perrin v Walsh [2025] EWHC 2536 (KB) concerning the integrity of surveillance footage). In Middleton, following a slip and heavy fall on a wet cruise ship toilet floor, the claimant’s case was that she suffered a high level of disability, primarily as a result of developing a functional neurological disorder. Judgment had been entered in her favour with a 5% contributory negligence concession. She was after £10.2m. The defendant valued her claim at no more than £25,000. The defendant’s case was that the footage shot from the highway showed her
