---

Companies Bill [Lords]

My hon. Friend talks of criminals and fraudsters. The hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) says that applications made under the new clauses would be scarce, but he tends to underestimate the ingenuity of fraudsters. If I were a fraudster, given this provision and certain precedents that may be set by decisions taken by the Secretary of State, I would wish to put my company in the position where I could claim that my shareholders were subject to the risk of violence and intimidation. For instance, I might have two people in an office putting drops in a rabbit’s eyes, or I might set up a small subsidiary in a violent place. I could therefore close my shareholder register and prevent legitimate investigation of the various connections that my company has, if they are unsavoury.