A judge has ruled that victims of black cab rapist John Worboys should not receive damages from his insurer, according to reports.

In April this year, Post reported that victims of cab rapist John Worboys were due to take his motor insurer to the High Court in a legal case understood to be the first of its kind involving an insurance company.

The insurer was originally granted legal anonymity, according to Andrew Bartlett QC, acting for the defence, because the business had been sold since John Worboys, 54, committed a series of assaults against women inside his licensed taxi for which he was convicted in 2009.

But Post exclusively revealed that Justice Silber had later lifted the anonymity, exposing the insurer as London-based Inceptum Insurance.

Justice Silber has ruled against the female victims on whether insurers were liable for damages because Worboys’ crimes were committed in his insured taxi, the BBC reports.

He dismissed applications brought against Inceptum Insurance on a preliminary issue of whether it was liable for compensation.

The judge expressed the “greatest sympathy” for the women “in the light of the horrifying experiences that they suffered at the hands of Worboys”.

But he said his duty was to “follow the appropriate legal principles”.

A spokesman for Inceptum Insurance told Post: “Insurers have every sympathy for the victims of Worboys, but it was a novel legal argument that victims of such crimes should be able to claim from an offender’s motor insurers.

“The court has confirmed that such claims do not fall within the scope of compulsory motor insurance.

“At a time when the cost of motor insurance is under scrutiny, it was right that insurers asked the court to determine the scope of the motor insurance that the law requires motorists to have.”

Source: Post Online – 25 June 2012