Marcus Bokkerink, chairman of the UK Competition and Markets Authority, defended his record with regulators, saying it was “very different” from his joining and raising questions about changes the government can plan.
In a LinkedIn post published Thursday, Bokkerink, who was forced to resign last month over concerns that the agency can promote growth, said he was “advocating ways to drive economic growth to prioritize consumers in the UK and enterprises”.
Bokkerink's departure from the CMA is part of a broader government effort that forces regulators to take growth more seriously as the UK tries to promote business investment in the country. The CMA has been on the crosshairs due to complaints from business, especially large tech groups, because it is too interventionist.
Bokkerink said in his post: “The CMA’s draft plan for consultation at the beginning of the year proposed actions taken by the CMA plan. Further promote this strategy to provide priority positive outcomes for people, businesses and the economy.
“The government said it seeks a different approach to what is specified in the plan. . Although it is not yet clear, there will always be an option.”
The government will release its "strategic shift" for the CMA in the coming weeks and provide priority for supervisors. Shortly after the organization released its annual draft plan, the organization's highest change, which will begin to focus in the next three years, raises questions about how regulators will change their approach.
Bokkerink was replaced by former British Amazon boss Doug Gurr, who said he hopes CMA will act faster and make mergers and market research as simple and rapid as possible.
As the government promotes a less-thrift regulatory environment, the changes in the CMA are under overhaul of other regulators. The head of the UK Financial Ombudsman Services resigned on Thursday in an interim accidental resignation that underwent a major review of the consumer remediation system.
Abby Thomas, who is under pressure to take a less consumer-friendly approach, said the Ombudsman board was initially reluctant to start charging claims management companies for claims management companies when they filed their case. Feeling frustrated.