By Paul Sandle
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Britain forced out the chair of its antitrust regulator after he failed to prioritise its growth agenda, replacing him with a former Amazon boss, in a signal the UK’s attempt to rein in big tech could be over.
Marcus Bokkerink was replaced at the Competition and Markets Authority late on Tuesday by Amazon’s former boss in Britain, Doug Gurr, on an interim basis, the government said. Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the government needed someone who shared its “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.
Britain’s Labour government, under pressure to reignite the economy after years of sluggish output, has said it wants regulators to focus on growth, raising the prospect that it could favour the biggest and most established companies.
Bokkerink’s removal came a day after Donald Trump returned to the White House, vowing to cut regulation on sectors including tech as it races to develop Artificial Intelligence.
Some have questioned whether an easing of competition rules does promote growth however.
Bokkerink said on LinkedIn that the regulator had a duty to promote competition for the benefit of consumers, and that markets should not be held back “by a few powerful incumbents setting the rules for everyone else”.
The CMA’s chief executive, Sarah Cardell, said Bokkerink had “tirelessly championed consumers, competition and a level playing field for business”.
Reeves had ordered the CMA and other British regulators to “tear down the barriers hindering businesses and refocus their efforts on promoting growth” in a meeting with regulatory bosses last week.
The CMA’s last clash with a U.S. tech giant was over Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard in 2023, and the regulator came off worse.
It blocked the deal but then tore up its own rule book to approve the case following a furious reaction from Microsoft bosses who lobbied the government at the highest level.
SUPERCHARGING GROWTH
After being singled out by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for holding back growth, the CMA said in November that it would focus on “truly problematic mergers” and rethink its approach to allow more deals to go ahead.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, in announcing the change at the top of the regulator, said he wanted to go further, and see the CMA “supercharging the economy with pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets”.
He said Gurr would bring a “wealth of experience” in the technology sector to the CMA.
Gurr’s appointment comes after the regulator 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, Google, Meta, Apple and Microsoft, do not abuse their dominant market positions.
Amazon, under Gurr’s leadership, was investigated by the CMA over its stake in food delivery company Deliveroo. The regulator cleared the investment in 2020.
(Additional reporting by Muvija M in London, writing by Paul Sandle in London, Editing by Kate Holton and Christina Fincher)
