Slow Progress in Striking out Dilatory Litigants: "No Second Bite at the Cherry"

For many years the problem of delay has plagued English civil proceedings. The main instrument used to counter it has been the power to strike out claims on the basis of "want of prosecution" ('Allen v. Sir Alfred McAlpine and Sons Ltd.' [1968] 2 Q.B. 229, C.A.; 'Birkett v. James' [1978] A.C. 297, H.L.). But, notoriously, this doctrine long ago lost its snap. Now the Court of Appeal in 'Securum Finance Ltd. v. Ashton' [2000] 3 W.L.R. 1400 has sharpened the doctrine's bite, or at least lengthened its leash, by deciding that this power of dismissal extends to claims which are not yet statute barred.