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Companies Bill [Lords]

The hon. Gentleman makes that point again and I listen carefully to what he says. One of my concerns about clause 117 is that it provides an open-ended invitation for applications to be made. As was observed earlier, a person making an application may have a friend who makes a slightly different one and so forth. Are we putting something of a legal treadmill in place? I do not know; time will tell. What I do know is that the provision represents an effort in a very difficult area to meet the genuine concerns of people who are desperately worried about terrorism from animal rights protesters, for example. I share that concern, but no doubt the Solicitor-General will advise us in due course that there will be some form of review of the court’s decision along the usual lines. [Interruption.] I believe that he confirms that. Speaking rather like a Lib Dem, I have reflected on both sides of the argument and I also have considerable sympathy with new clause 16, but I am not sure that leaving the matter for a judicial review is the right way forward. It is an imperfect appellate procedure. I defer to the right hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham on the points that he made, but the judicial review procedure would look into the reasonableness of how the decision was reached—the Wednesbury principles and so forth—rather than the quality of the judgment. That is essence the of the matter. That is why I say that it is an imperfect appellate procedure and why I do not feel able to support the new clause. We have had an interesting and important debate. I hope that the Solicitor-General will deal with the several points that have been raised in what I view as a most invigorating debate.