Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

I support very strongly the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Goudie. I hope that the noble and learned Lord the Attorney-General and the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, will pay close attention to the sweet opening words of my noble friend Lady Noakes. The remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Sharman, are of particular relevance to the auditor and especially to what he tactfully called the middle-range of accountants—we all know who they are from reading the financial press—who are going to be liable to the full might of the noble and learned Lord and similar lawyers. They are not going to have the same defences as what I think one could tactfully call the ““big four””, but they will be subject to the full hammer-blows and might of this clause. I hope the noble and learned Lord, or perhaps the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, coming to look at this amendment, will take on board what has been said by the leading practitioner—if I can call him that—the noble Lord, Lord Sharman.