Posted By Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 22, 2025
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) -Britain forced out the chair of its antitrust regulator because he was not focused enough on the government's drive to boost economic growth, finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday.
Marcus Bokkerink was replaced late on Tuesday by the former Amazon executive Doug Carr on an interim basis, the government said, adding that he would bring a wealth of experience in tech.
Reeves demanded the Competition and Markets Authority and other British regulators "tear down the barriers hindering businesses and refocus their efforts on promoting growth" in a meeting last week.
She said on Wednesday Bokkerink had stepped down after recognising that the CMA needed to be headed up by someone who shared the government's "strategic direction".
"He recognised it was time for him to move on and make way for somebody who does share the mission and the strategic direction that this government are taking," she told a Bloomberg event at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.
In October, the CMA was singled out by Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he promised to scrap regulation that was holding back growth.
The regulator said the following month that it would focus on "truly problematic mergers" and rethink its approach to remedies that could allow more deals to go ahead to support the government's growth mission.
However, its new approach did not go far enough for the government.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said on Tuesday: "We want to see regulators including the CMA supercharging the economy with pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets."
Gurr's appointment comes after the CMA stepped up its scrutiny of Big Tech by establishing its Digital Markets Unit.
The unit, which gained new powers this month, is tasked with ensuring that the biggest tech companies, such as Amazon.com, Alphabet's Google, Meta Platforms, Apple and Microsoft, do not abuse their dominant market positions.
(Reporting by Muvija M in London, writing by Sarah Young and Paul Sandle, Editing by Kate Holton)
