£4m food bug ‘scam’ inquiry looks at 70 British law firms

 Police in Majorca are investigating claims that more than 70 British law firms may have been involved in a “criminal system” to exploit hotels in an alleged food poisoning scam.

Investigators said that nearly 800 food poisoning claims were being investigated by a court.

A hotel group which prompted a police investigation leading to the court action said it was challenging 273 claims worth £4million. Spain said they had identified nearly 800 British tourists behind food poisoning claims – processed by 77 law firms – that were under investigation.

Confirming that only a tiny percentage of claimants had gone to see a doctor, the spokesman added in a statement: “The supposed food poisoning occurred despite the hotels passing all health checks, including some conducted by the British tour operators that afterwards processed their claims.”