Antitrust lawyers have questioned the “extraordinary” decision by ministers to remove the chair of Britain’s competition watchdog, suggesting it could have a “chilling” effect on other UK regulators.
The government confirmed the departure of Marcus Bokkerink as chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority on Tuesday night, after the Financial Times reported that business secretary Jonathan Reynolds had intervened.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, speaking to Bloomberg on Tuesday in Davos, implicitly criticized Bokkerin: “He recognized that it was time to move on and make room for someone who shares the mission and the strategic direction this government is taking.”
This month, ministers ordered 17 of Britain’s biggest regulators to spell out how they intend to help boost UK economic growth. But numerous lawyers and lobbyists said Bokkerink’s resignation came out of the blue.
“To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise,” said one business lobbyist. “We have been in a lot of discussions with the CMA. . . and they seemed to really understand it and make changes.”
One antitrust lawyer at a London-based firm said the move would have a “chilling and chilling effect” on independent regulators across the country.
“Although it appears reassuring for business in the short term, if competition policy is left at the mercy of political fashion, it becomes less stable and predictable, undermining business confidence,” they said.
“It is an extraordinary move by the government to interfere so much with the competition authority,” they added.
Bokkerink’s departure raises questions about whether ministers are prioritizing the demands of big business over competing priorities such as consumer rights and the environment.
The government has appointed Doug Gurr, who ran Amazon’s UK business during the conflict with the company, as the new interim chairman of the CMA CMA due to its minority investment in Deliveroo, which was finally approved by the regulator in 2020.
One person said the forced exit looked like a “desperation move by a struggling government” trying to regain popularity among business leaders after imposing extra regulations and taxes on corporations last year Budget.
The move has also led to speculation about the fate of CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell and whether she will also be replaced.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the Conservative Party wants regulatory reform so that businesses “bear less of the burden”.
“But removing a part-time non-executive chairman of the CMA seems an unusual place to start,” he told the House of Commons. “He is not responsible for day-to-day decision-making at the CMA. That’s the CEO’s job. Did they aim and miss?”
Cardell has been at pains in recent weeks to emphasize that the regulator is taking the government’s growth mandate seriously. In November, Cardell told the FT that the agency was planning a overview of its merger remediessignaling that more mergers could be approved based on commitments such as price freezes rather than forcing asset sales.
One person familiar with the matter said Cardell had had “positive discussions” about her role with ministers since Bokkerink’s resignation.
Max von Thun, European director of the Open Markets Institute, said the CMA was at the forefront of global efforts to tackle growing market concentration, particularly in the “monopolistic” technology sector.
“The government’s decision to replace the chair of government with the former CEO of Amazon, at a time when a handful of US tech giants are tightening their grip on the future of artificial intelligence, is a major strategic mistake,” he said.
Competition lawyers and experts have noted that Clare Barclay, until recently UK head of Microsoft and now in the company’s second most senior position, is chairing the government’s new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council.
In a two-page statement issued on Tuesday evening, Bokkerink said he had helped reorient the CMA to ensure it worked to empower “consumers and effective competition – rather than being held back by a few powerful leading companies setting the rules for everyone else”. .
Business groups welcomed the government’s intervention. Craig Beaumont, chief executive at the Federation of Small Businesses, said he hoped the CMA would “now do more for growth”, while Stephen Phipson, head of manufacturing lobby group Make UK, welcomed ministers’ efforts to make regulations “fit for purpose”.
One banker said the CMA was seen as a hindrance and ousting Bokkerink could be a way to send a message to the regulator’s staff.
His departure comes after the CMA was given new powers to regulate digital markets.
It announced last week that Google would be the first company to be investigated by the watchdog to decide whether the tech giant warrants special market status in light of its position in search services, which could see it bound by stricter rules of conduct.
The government is due to issue a “strategic governance” to the CMA in the coming weeks, setting out its priorities for the regulator. However, apart from its desire for the watchdog to focus on growth, it was not clear what Labor actually wanted the CMA to do, lawyers said.
“The government is clearly unhappy with the CMA but doesn’t seem to have any concrete views on what is wrong,” said one senior competition lawyer.
Additional reporting by Ivan Levingston
