Compensation Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 27:"Page 5, line 19, after ““if”” insert ““without reasonable excuse””" The noble Baroness said: My Lords, Amendment No.27 inserts a defence into Clause 8. A person who obstructs the regulator in the exercise of his powers could be committing an offence and would be liable, if found guilty, to a fine. There may be circumstances, of course, where the regulator is unintentionally pursuing the wrong person. The amendment will provide a safeguard in those circumstances for either authorised or unauthorised persons. Our legal advice is that this is a necessary addition to the Bill to protect those persons. A reasonable excuse would include circumstances where the regulator had genuinely mistaken the person and wrongly taken steps to prosecute him. I beg to move.