The chair of the UK’s competition regulator has been ousted from his role as ministers look to dial back regulation as part of Labour’s growth agenda.
The government confirmed the departure of former chair Marcus Bokkerink on Tuesday evening, after the competition watchdog failed to convince ministers it was sufficiently focused on growth.
The CMA and other regulators met with Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week, having been asked “to tear down the barriers hindering business and refocus their efforts on promoting growth”. The submission from the CMA is reported to have left ministers unimpressed.
The CMA is one of Britain’s most important regulators, with the power to examine and intervene on business practices. However, it has faced complaints from business leaders over what they see as an excessively interventionist approach.
Bokkerink will be replaced on an interim basis by the former boss of Amazon UK, Doug Gurr. Gurr ran Amazon during its battle with the CMA over an investment in Deliveroo, which the regulator ultimately approved in 2020. He is now director of the Natural History Museum in London.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government has a plan to boost growth for businesses and communities across the UK.
“As we’ve set out, we want to see regulators including the CMA supercharging the economy with pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets.”
Last summer, the CMA was criticised for its investigation into supermarket loyalty schemes after the watchdog found “no widespread evidence” customers were being misled.
The watchdog also looked at supermarket profitability although found no evidence of unfair profiteering among the retail giants.
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