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Companies Bill [Lords]

I will come to that point when I conclude my remarks, but the hon. Gentleman is perhaps conferring an omniscience on the Secretary of State that they may not possess at the time. The bar to legitimate investigative journalism also applies to the activities of law enforcement agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office and the stock exchange. In Committee, I advised the hon. Member for Huntingdon to ask the Cambridgeshire constabulary fraud squad whether that approach would hamper its efforts. More widely, new clause 16 will damage shareholder protection. If the rights of secrecy are granted to a company, which may have stocks on which people have taken a punt, the shareholders may not know who controls the company. A concert party could be legitimised through such shareholder secrecy.