Bribery Bill [HL]

My Lords, we are coming to an area where we do not share common ground. We do not believe that there should be a reference in the Bill. We will of course reflect on everything that has been said in Committee and the force with which it was said. As I quoted, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, whom we look on as a considerable authority in this area, took the view that, ""it is not of great significance whether it is statutory or non-statutory guidance".—[Official Report, 9/12/09; col. 1100.]" It is unnecessary to have something in the Bill to require the courts to take account of official guidance. We expect the courts to take account of all relevant information, including any official or industry-produced guidance, when determining whether a particular company’s procedures were adequate. With that, I again invite the noble Lord, Lord Henley, to withdraw his amendment.