The judge stated: «The objective of the Direction is to manage the
litigation so that the costs of each party are proportionate to the value of the claim and reputational issues at
stake, and so that the parties are on an equal footing... I am forced to the conclusion that if one party is unaware that the other party's budget has been significantly exceeded, they are no longer on an equal footing, and the purpose of the cost management scheme is lost... the fact is the claimant has largely ignored the provisions of the Practice Direction and I therefore reluctantly come to the conclusion that
there is no good reason to depart from the budget».