Clause 183 - Investigation of offences under section 179
Enterprise Bill
5:00 pm
Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 94, in page 132, line 41, at end insert—
''insofar as relevant to the investigation of the offence under section 179 which it is suspected has been committed''.
The fundamental effect of clause 183 is to provide the OFT with the same powers that the SFO currently has under the Criminal Justice Act. Again, the Government seem to be introducing provisions—although the Under-Secretary will deny this—that have the implication of undermining the SFO and that undermine the OFT in the process. In the context of our earlier debate on initiating proceedings, I mentioned the potential problems, in relation to the powers of the OFT and SFO, for the transparency and reputation of this country's courts.
We have no less of a problem over giving the OFT new powers of investigation. Those powers could significantly undermine the business community's confidence in the OFT, which is currently based on its understanding that the OFT is part of a system that ensures fair trade, rather than being, conceptually, a criminal agency. In any event, the amendment is appropriate in that any investigation undertaken should be relevant only to the suspected criminal infringements of clause 159.
I heard the Under-Secretary say earlier that the Government do not immediately intend to turn the OFT into a prosecution agency, but that is the clear purpose of this legislation. If that is to happen, we must look at the matter in a different light from that in which we have in the past. The amendment might give some small comfort to companies that an anti-cartel investigation mounted by the OFT will not be used as some kind of general fishing expedition.