I am sorry that telling the previous Government fell on deaf ears. I fear that it might do the same as regards this Government, as the noble Lord has already recognised. We all recognise what the noble Lord is saying. Incredible hardship has been caused to our great country and we must make sure that it does not happen again. I believe that the OFT and CMA will inherit these powers. There is a governor in place with two criteria. One is that if the target’s turnover is greater than £70 million, the merger can be investigated and/or if the combined share of supply or acquisition of particular goods and services of the companies is 25% or more, that is known as the share supply threshold, which can also be investigated.
There are some pretty low thresholds in place which would capture the excellent examples given by the noble Lord, particularly in the mortgage market. These have to be applied rigorously. I hope that, as we debate the Bill, more will come out on the important issues that he raises. On that basis, I hope that he will withdraw his amendment.