Chancellor says UK regulator must "understand wider responsibilities" after Microsoft Activision deal block
UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt has called upon the country's regulator to understand its «wider responsibilities» to promote economic growth, following its recent block of Microsoft's proposed $68.7bn Activision Blizzard buyout.
The remarks, reported by The Telegraph, follow questions from MPs this week directed at bosses of the Competition and Markets Authority regarding the decision which has scuppered Microsoft's ambitions here in the UK — and potentially worldwide.
Both Microsoft and Activision have criticised the UK for disrupting the deal, and have labelled the country as being «bad for business» post-Brexit. The remarks come in stark contrast to the vision for the UK's tech industry previously set out by Hunt and UK prime minister Rishi Sunak to become the «Silicon Valley» of Europe.
«When it comes to Microsoft, there was a merger between two American companies that the US regulator is seeking to block, and the UK regulator took the same view,» Hunt said, speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference yesterday.
Hunt highlighted the fact the CMA was an independent body from the government — meaning he and it could disagree on its decisions — but that this independence still came with a responsibility to look at the bigger picture.
«I think one of the reasons companies like Microsoft and Google want to invest in the UK is because we have independent regulators that are not controlled by politicians and therefore they can be confident there will be a level playing field,» Hunt continued.
«I would not want to undermine that at all, but I do think it's important all our regulators understand their wider responsibilities for economic growth.»
Hunt was speaking a day after the CMA's bosses faced a grilling by
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