On 13 October 2025, the Competition Appeal Tribunal ("Tribunal") published its CPO judgment following a hearing on 12 September 2025. Clare Spottiswoode CBE has been certified to act as class representative and the claim has been certified on an opt-out basis. A summary of the CPO Judgment is available here.
As the Tribunal's judgment acknowledges, Ms Spottiswoode has a background of senior positions in the public sector (including serving as Director General at the Office of Gas Supply from 1993 to 1998), and considerable experience of contentious litigation. Her claim seeks damages of approx. £600 - 650m from Motorola – the monopoly provider of the UK's emergency services network ('Airwave Services') – on behalf of organisations such as the Police, Ambulance, Fire and Rescue services, as well as charities such as the RNLI and RSPCA. Motorola had previously been subject to a CMA investigation, which found that Motorola was able to set and maintain prices substantially above the competitive level from 2020. This led to a price cap being imposed by the CMA for the provision of Airwave Services, which only applied from 1 August 2023 onwards. The claim that was certified today seeks to recover the excessive fees that Motorola charged in the period from 1 January 2020 to the date the price cap kicked in.
The claim is funded not by a commercial litigation funder but by the Home Office, which is not seeking a commercial return. Ms. Spottiswoode is confident that she will be successful in getting money back to those organisations – which are overwhelmingly public bodies and charities – who have been allegedly overcharged by Motorola.
Clare Spottiswoode said: "I am delighted to have been certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent those organisations which have been impacted by Motorola's conduct. This is a significant step forward, and I am privileged to represent such a diverse class, ranging from the emergency services to charities and local authorities across the UK."
Further updates on the progress of the collective action will be posted on these pages.