Compound interest?

In Sempra Metals v Commissioners of Inland Revenue [2007] UKHL 34, the House of Lords held that the common law does to some extent recognise that compound interest may be awarded against a person who wrongfully withholds money. The question discussed here, by Chris Nicoll of Auckland University, is whether Sempra Metals has cleared the way for a claim by the assured for compound interest as damages for the ‘late’ payment of an insurance claim.