How the UK’s competition regulator lost the trust of ministers

When Marcus Boccerch took his phone on Monday evening in January, he did not know that it would cost his job.

Gareth Davis, the Standing Secretary of the Business Department Gareth Davis informed that the next day the announcement would be announced, saying that Bokkerch resigned as the President of the British Competition. His replacement will be the former Amazon boss Doug Gur. It has not been submitted as an optional.

After the government’s next frustration Competition and markets In order to sufficiently not fulfilled, the ministers decided that it was time to take action according to the knowledge of the incident.

As the phone call happened, Jonathan Reynolds was located in front of the Great Technological Companies and Financial Services to Parade Government Growth.

The defenestration of Bokkerink was shown, which was called “Chapter” and “People’s Attention” to intervene in the event, it is said about the event. “If you talked to business managers, you will know that everyone thinks that CMA lasted long [and] associated with confusion. ”

After leaving the phone, the stunned Bokkerich called the ambulance council session. Over the next hours, several members have resigned in complaints about what they have seen as the unscrupulous strategy of the government, two people with knowledge knowledge.

After all, after almost 24 hours of discussions, Bokkerrink decided that the agency would give up for him and to go out.

CMA, Bokkerrink and Business and Trade Department have refused to comment on the case details.

Bokkerrink’s departure followed the months of pressure pressure SIR KEIR STARMERThe government, as sought to equal weapons to the state with its central mission, from economic growth.

The first sign that CMA was in the government’s intersections came when it was created that the leaders gathered for the British International Investment Summit that “we will trust that every regulator is doing this room.”

Bokkerink was in the room fitted among the leaders of the alphabet and Brookfield.

Weeks later, another SALVO arrived in the form of Reynolds and Chancellor Rachel River, which was sent on the eve of Christmas, which asked the most important regulators to introduce a priority to promote business trust.

The CMA response repeatedly repeated what was in the agency’s recently published annual program, viewed as “particularly disappointing,” said one official. “Jonny and Rachel wrote to all regulators before Christmas. All of them CMA did not read the assignment properly. “

The government was also dissatisfied that the agency published its response, disappointing the control of the ministers against the story, according to the knowledge of the situation. Bokkerink’s removal came after days.

They went with him, the ministers are already tightening the agency at the agency. This week, the government published its “strategic direction”, which defines its expectations for CMA direction and priorities. The previous repetition of November 2023 contained segments that attach importance to the agency’s “strong and independent voice”. The section was obviously absent from the absence of this week.

What was included in the instructions that the regulator should “unequivocally reflected the need to raise the goal of the United Kingdom as an international investment destination.”

On Thursday, the Business Department pointed out Reynolds’ speech, announcing at the helm, in which the government “believes in effective, independent institutions.”

Gurm, the new temporary chair, who is widespread permanent, insisted on this week that the group still protected consumers despite its changed attention.

But it is obvious that the ministers want the next CMA head to be less aggressive.

“The regulatory swing has been trying to return and move forward for years,” says the former CMA legal director Tom Smith, who is currently a partner of a supermanian partners.

“For a long time, the competitive authorities have rarely intervened. Then they started to intervene more often to allow transactions. A number of a number have led to a market too much market force, “he added. “Now the pendulum is back.”

Gur said to FT agency.

The regulator has promised to accelerate CMA’s merger investigations. Many business attention, the time of its merging notice periods and cutting the timing of simple transactions significantly.

The former Amazon executive has experienced a direct attempt to the regulator with the regulator with the regulator on the contribution of its minorities, which was finally cleared in 2020.

Gurur stressed that there is no conflict of interests with his former employer, which he left four years ago.

Beyond the attention, the agency’s merger capture that CMA is also trying to post the organizational headaches behind it.

The same week, when the boker left, the anti-monopoly regulator was The process of trying to reduce staff numbers by 10% After “budgeting error”. The error was found last summer. According to the situation with the knowledge of the knowledge, several people involved in control.

CMA has been talking to the government for years, regardless of whether people with the knowledge of the discussion must remain less of its business units.

These include the Subsidy Counseling Department, which oversees how the subsidies are handed over by state bodies and the role of CMA as an appellate body, such as other regulators, say people.

Gur said that it is HotspentAfter all, the government is a matter of how they choose to build and resolve the regulators, “but any such changes have not been in the focus of conversation in the last three weeks.

CMA, however, is in a heavy place. The main executive Sarah cards regrets that the agency is seriously accepted by the government’s growth, the regulator has also received new forces under digital market regime when large technologies are dominated.

Guard Investigations of Google and Apple last month have been announced under new legislationA number of independent CMA panel offered such a job on Amazon.

This week, the government said in its new curtain that CMA should use its new forces “flexible” and “opportunities to open the Great British growth opportunities.”

HotspentI was approached [by the government] And I had two very simple questions, “the gur reminded. “What problem are you trying to solve and why do you think I’m the answer?”