All Change At The Competition And Markets Authority!?

In this edition of StepAhead: Antitrust and Competition Insights newsletter, we recall the remarkable events of the past two weeks at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). And we discuss how a new political reality in the United Kingdom will impact businesses engaging with the CMA across digital market regulation, merger control and beyond.

So, what happened?

• First, it was reported on January 21 that the chair of the CMA, Marcus Bokkerink, had been given his marching orders after an unsatisfactory meeting in Downing Street, with Labour citing a fundamental 'difference of approach' in how best to drive growth and investment.
• Second, Doug Gurr – a former head of Amazon UK and Amazon China – was appointed as Interim Chair. In a letter to the Financial Times, Gurr confirmed an immediate review of the CMA's work, so as to ensure that it makes "Good decisions, clear decisions, rapid decisions — that's what you tell us you need and that's on us to deliver."