Morris vows to meet deadline on Safeway

Competition Commission chairman Sir Derek Morris has said that the Safeway inquiry is on track to finish by August 12, countering reports that a conclusion was unlikely until September.

Speaking at the Oxford University Business Economics Programme, Morris said: 'Some have speculated that the Competition Commission is running late with the Safeway inquiry.

'The current deadline is very demanding, and we have received a wide range of views on a broad set of diverse and detailed issues. But we are proceeding at the moment according to schedule.'

Last week, the trade suitors for Safeway - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - had private meetings with the Commission following the publication of its remedies statement.