The government sacked the chair of Britain’s competition watchdog

The chairman of the UK’s competition watchdog has been sacked by government ministers who felt the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had failed to convince them it was focusing sufficiently on growth.

Government sources said the government wanted to signal that it was serious about growth by trying to increase investment by the Chancellor and the Trade Secretary at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The CMA recently blocked the merger between Vodafone and Three Mobile Networks which was eventually approved.

Marcus Boekerink, who is chairing the CMA from 2022, will be replaced by former Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr on an interim basis.

Mr Boekerink and other regulators met with Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week to give their views on how to encourage growth.

It is understood that the submission was considered weighty by the CMA.

The primary responsibility of the CMA is to ensure that consumers are well served through effective and fair competition.

The CMA has been contacted for comment.