The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to intervene to stop mortgage lenders acting too quickly to repossess homes. As the British Chamber of Commerce warn that the UK could soon be in recession, the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice disclosed that the number of court orders granted to mortgage lenders rose by more than 12 per cent between the first and second quarter of 2008. Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor, Vince Cable, believes that these figures show that the “government must intervene to stop lenders moving quickly through the courts” in an effort to repossess homes. He said: “Since the mid 1990s, claimants have been unable to get help with mortgage payments until they have been unable to work for nine months. “This means many of those out of work will face the threat of repossession.” Earlier this month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that the number of repossessions in the first half of this year was 18,900, which is a 48 per cent increase on the same period in 2007.