Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs have rejected an amendment to legislation that would exempt claims brought by foreigners against UK multinationals from civil litigation reforms.

The Public Bill Committee debated the amendment to the Legal Aid, Punishment of Offenders and Sentencing Bill, tabled by Labour MP Kate Green, yesterday.

It argued that claimants bringing cases overseas against multinational corporations should be allowed to pursue their claims under the existing no win no fee system.

But the committee of 21 MPs, including Lib Dems Tom Brake and Mike Crockart, took a majority decision to reject the change.

Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter said: ‘My colleague Kate Green made a powerful and compelling legal and moral case for the exemption of Trafigura-type cases.

'She and I and many adherents of human rights will be outraged that the government dismissed it so presumptively, and that the Liberal Democrats on the committee, despite their party having an excellent record on human rights, followed the government’s line.’

On Monday this week, millions of charity supporters were urged to fight the changes.

Humanitarian organisations Amnesty International UK, Oxfam, Cafod, Friends of the Earth, War on Want and Traidcraft, whose joint reach is estimated at four million people, joined forces to oppose the proposals in a letter to the Guardian.

The letter declared: ‘Our organisations are deeply concerned that clauses of the [bill] will have a devastating effect on access to justice for the overseas victims of human rights abuses by UK multinational companies.

‘The government's proposals to abolish success fees and to make claimants' insurance premiums non-recoverable will have the effect of severely reducing the ability of law firms to take on such cases.’

It added: ‘It is vitally important that the victims of such abuses are able to access justice and obtain redress – a failure to do so would not only deny these victims a remedy, but would fuel a cycle of impunity as the risk of civil litigation acts as a deterrent.’