It was a Greek tragedy for opponents of the proposed tobacco display ban this week after hopes of a last-minute reprieve were dashed.

The Greek government raised an objection to the UK government's regulations covering the implementation of the ban.

But according to a statement from the European Commission seen by The Grocer, the objection arrived a day too late the deadline for European member states to raise any objections was Monday.

Had the submission arrived on time the UK government would have been prevented from taking any further action on its plans for a further three months to allow further consultation. A so-called standstill period would have been extended until 14 May, after the expected general election date.

The UK government is now free to proceed with the regulations and is expected to do so as soon as possible ahead of the election making it harder for a future government to reverse the process.

However there appears to be confusion as Greece claimed its "detailed opinion" had been submitted on time last Thursday.

The commission, however, claimed this was comment and not an official submission.

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