Government ousts UK competition watchdog chair
The chairman of Britain’s competition watchdog has been ousted by government ministers who say the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) failed to convince them it was sufficiently focused on growth.
The government wants to send a signal that it is serious about growth as the German chancellor and business minister try to attract investment at the World Economic Forum in Davos, government sources said.
The CMA recently delayed Vodafone’s merger with Three Mobile Networks, which was eventually approved.
Marcus Bokkerink, who has been CMA chairman since 2022, will be replaced on an interim basis by former Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr.
We have contacted Mr Bockrink and the CMA for comment.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell and other regulators met Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week to express their ideas on how to stimulate growth.
It is understood the CMA’s submissions were considered underwhelming.
At the time, Reeves said she wanted regulators to “remove” red tape.
“Every regulator, regardless of industry, has a responsibility to remove regulatory barriers to growth.
“I hope to embed this mission into the fabric of our regulators through a cultural shift from an over-focus on risk to helping drive growth,” she said.
Last year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told an investor gathering: “We will ensure that every regulator in this country – particularly our economic and competition regulators – take growth as seriously as this room ”
The CMA’s primary responsibility is to ensure that consumers are well served through effective and fair competition.
In 2023, the company initially blocked the tech giant’s plan to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard, before being criticized by Microsoft Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith.
At the time, he said Britain was “bad for business” and confidence in the country had been “seriously shaken”.
The CMA subsequently approved the deal, worth $69bn (£56bn), The largest acquisition ever in the gaming industryafter Microsoft reorganized its products.
Mr Smith later said the CMA was “tough but fair”.
Mr Bocklinck was appointed to a five-year term by former Conservative business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
He is a former senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group, one of the world’s largest management consulting groups.
His interim successor, Dr. Gurr, worked at Amazon from 2011 to 2020, including two years as the online company’s China president.
He is currently Director of the Natural History Museum in London.
Eleven members of the CMA’s 33-member merged group will resign later this year.
The panel is appointed by the Department of Business and Trade and consists of independent experts who make decisions on whether large deals can proceed in the UK. Their terms can last up to eight years.
