Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 337:"Page 239, line 9, leave out from second ““the”” to end of line 10 and insert ““auditor is using the provisions of this section to secure needless publicity for defamatory matter””" The noble Lord said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 337, I wish to speak also to the other amendments in the group. In Grand Committee we agreed to take on board an amendment to what is now Clause 505, which was put forward by the noble Baroness, Lady Goudie, and supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes. We have looked at the various places in the Bill where a company is obliged to circulate a statement made by an auditor who is ceasing to hold office. We have agreed that the test for whether a company can be relieved from its obligation should be if the auditor is seeking to secure,"““needless publicity for defamatory matter””." I am grateful to noble Lords who have put down similar amendments to four of the five clauses but I do not believe that the effect of them would be very different from our amendments. I suggest that we go with the wording provided by parliamentary counsel. I beg to move.