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Ministers have sacked the head of the competition regulator as they seek to cut red tape to boost economic growth.
Marcus Bokkerink, who became chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2022, will resign despite not completing his five-year term. He will be replaced by Doug Gurr, Amazon’s former UK business director and director of the Natural History Museum.
Bokkerink’s departure followed an intervention by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds after his department concluded the regulator was not sufficiently focused on growth, the Financial Times reported. The CMA did not respond to a request for comment.
A broader shake-up at the regulator is also expected later this year as 11 members of its 33-member merger panel, an independent group of experts tasked with reviewing whether any deal will harm competition, retire in 2025.
Outside: Marcus Bokkerink (pictured), CMA president from 2022
The Government will appoint their replacements, many of whom are expected to come from business backgrounds.
The removal of the CMA chair comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Reynolds wrote to the country’s regulators encouraging them to be “more pro-growth and pro-investment”.
Alex Haffner, competition partner at Fladgate solicitors, said: ‘What stakeholders will now assess is how the new appointment translates into the CMA’s approach to enforcement.
‘Recent signs are that he has heeded criticism of previous decisions and is perhaps more willing to be flexible; the recent Vodafone/Three authorization decision is a case in point.
“However, the new chairman also takes on the role at a time when the CMA has taken on significant new powers under the Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Act, particularly in relation to its oversight of Big Tech, which which means the CMA will probably become more activist. although paying considerable attention to how to apply it in a way that best stimulates competition and therefore economic growth.’
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