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Companies Bill [HL]

My Lords, I too support the Government’s amendment. I am glad that I let the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, speak before me because I affirm everything she said and everything she denied. I share her anxiety and hope that we shall have more debate on AmendmentNo. 245B to ensure that it is not a Trojan horse and does not weaken the main amendment. I share the noble Baroness’s considerable anxieties about the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes. In the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Patten, there was a sense that lobbying by NGOs was a less proper or worthy activity than lobbying by anybody else. That seems extraordinary. I am glad to be in part briefed by a range of NGOs, among them Traidcraft, which offers its views to the public, and has done for months, if not years, from its experience as a medium-sized company.