DLA Piper’s Sarah Cleary on the Competition Commission’s embarrassment over BAA

THE Competition Commission has taken another hit to its reputation, following the Appeal Tribunal’s ruling in favour of BAA earlier this week.

In March, the Commission ordered the airport owner to sell Stansted, Gatwick and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports.

But BAA argued there was bias on the inquiry team as one of the inquiry members was linked to an organisation with an interest in buying the airports.

And the Tribunal agreed – highlighting the importance of ensuring that decision- making processes are transparent and unbiased.

It follows two other embarrassments this year when the Commission was forced to reverse decisions against Tesco and Barclays.

The Commission’s procedures for highlighting potential conflicts of interest clearly failed. There should have been a regularly updated list of potential conflict issues for each panel member during the course of the inquiry.

In this case, the withdrawal was made only 16 days before the final report and an internal investigation will no doubt follow. The Commission is also likely to spend time and money reviewing its position and re-report.

But it certainly now needs to work on its image to avoid being seen as the regulator intent on revenge, in what is the worst recession in decades.