As a private individual, under UK law you don’t need to inform the other person you are recording unless you intend to distribute or publish the recording. The law is completly different for businesses - see the Oftel website for details.
To all who’ve responded, thank you so much for your help and advice.
Unfortunately my phone will allow me to record memo’s etc but not conversations so I’ll have to find some way of rigging it up if he calls again. I’m going to try and find the non-emergency number so I can flag the incident to the local police so if anything does happen then it’s at least been reported.
As for the accident itself, the car was indicating, but it was hidden from me from the car behind it which had pulled up right up his 4rse and out to the right a bit covering the back of the car with the indicator in. I was going very slowly though so I’ll take a look at those cases and see what they seem to say. The guy told me he’d just commented to his wife about the bikes whizzing past (a group of others had already shot up the outside) so why he didn’t check I’ll never know. Still these things happen and there’s a proportion of blame to be shared.
Right, I’d better stop typing and go and get on with the call.
thanks again to all who’ve advised and posted!
In that case, make it clear in your claim that a group of bikes travelling faster then you had already gone by and had warned the driver that bikes were filtering. You were of course more cautious but had every reason to assume he knew you were there given that he had waited for other bikes to pass. Tell your insurer that he had admitted seeign the other bikes pass.