---

Company Law Reform Bill [Lords]

That is one of the aspects that we will consider when we examine the Bill clause by clause in Committee. I look forward to the participation of the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Hywel Williams) in Committee so that he may develop a better understanding of the provisions of the Bill with respect to the business review and other topics. The hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford raised the issue of derivative claims and the possibility that pressure groups will bring actions and open the floodgates to vexatious litigation. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State dealt with that, and I shall add two comments. Even if the action is successful, the damages will be paid not to the individual, but to the company. The Bill also provides that the court may make any consequential order that it considers appropriate, so that pressure groups that make claims that are not intended to promote the success of the company, which is the core function, could find that they have to pay heavy costs. We had an extensive discussion of animal rights, which I know is of particular concern to the hon. Member for Huntingdon. The measure is not a knee-jerk reaction to a particular instance. Perhaps he missed the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, which was entirely—