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Companies Bill [Lords]

It is with some trepidation that I contribute to the debate, after all the hard work that so many people have clearly done over so many months on such technical legislation. However, there is one issue about which I remain concerned: information about shareholders and directors. I tried to discuss it on Tuesday evening, but—as with many of the amendments that were tabled, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan) explained—that subject was not reached. My principal concern, which stems from my involvement in this area for more than 25 years, is people and companies that undertake scientific research that involves the use of animals. I know that the Government have considered, and will be consulting on, ways of making it more difficult for information on such people and companies to be accessible to those of malign intent. I hope that the consultation will proceed apace and that innocent people whose lives are made a misery, who suffer mental breakdowns, whose marriages break down, whose children are terrorised, whose property is vandalised and whose companies are brought to the brink of bankruptcy through the malign efforts of animal rights terrorists can be afforded some protection from their names and addresses being known. I have constituents who have been targeted in that way, and many of my friends have been broken by the attentions of animal rights terrorists. I hope that the Government will proceed with great speed and firmness to ensure that while information on a company and its members and shareholders can be made available, it is not available to those who wish to do them harm. As I said, I hope that the consultation will proceed apace and that the Government will quickly come up with serious measures to deal with this issue. This is a new development, and it is particularly important to me because I understand that the name of the company that is allegedly building the primate laboratory in Oxford is well known to animal rights terrorists. That company—if it is that company—is also likely to be involved in building Olympic provision. If the animal rights terrorists, having obtained such information, behave in the same way toward the Olympics and everybody involved in it—that includes all the athletes, trainers and suppliers worldwide—we can only tremble at the prospect of what could happen to our Olympic games. That is the seriousness of the situation, and it is the reason why I have risen, with trepidation, to intervene at this very late stage to implore Ministers to ensure that there is no way that those people can ever gain access to any of that information.