Supermarket watchdog plan under fire

THE British Retail Consortium (BRC), representing Britain's supermarkets, yesterday hit out at Conservative calls for the appointment of an ombudsman to regulate the dealings of supermarkets with their suppliers.

Shadow environment secretary Nick Herbert said a Conservative government would act to curb the "abuse of power" by major retailers which, he claimed, harmed both farmers and consumers.

But the BRC said an ombudsman would hit consumers. "Where's the evidence to support claims that retailers are unfairly putting the squeeze on their suppliers?" asked director general, Stephen Robertson. "The last thing our customers need is a new multi-million pound bureaucracy … pushing up shop prices."