In Murphy v Brentwood, a seven member House of Lords finally overruled the decision in Anns. During the case, reference was also made to Sutherland. The courts were instructed to impose a duty of care if they could find a suitable factual precedent to base it on. Effectively this means that, even though new duties of care could be recognised, the courts will only do so on a pragmatic and incremental basis. Policy was not to be ignored and would still play a role in consideration of the third question.