'Inexcusable' 19-month delay in NatWest judgment warrants retrial

The Court of Appeal has set aside a High Court judgment and ordered a retrial after an “inexcusable” 19-month delay in the judgment being handed down. NatWest had been found guilty of dishonest assistance and fraudulent trading in relation to VAT fraud and ordered to pay £50m to various liquidators. However, in NatWest Markets plc v Bilta (UK) Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 680, the court said the delay "may have so adversely affected the quality of the decision that it cannot be allowed to stand”'