Fingleton's relentless quest winning him few friends

LONDON BRIEFING:CONSUMER CHAMPION or rogue regulator? Opinion on John Fingleton, the Irishman who heads Britain's Office of Fair Trading, is rapidly becoming polarised as he pursues his relentless quest against anti-competitive behaviour.

The raids carried out last Thursday at Britain's leading supermarket chains and their multinational suppliers - this time targeting food and toiletries - rounded off an extraordinary fortnight for Fingleton and his team at the OFT.

Just hours later, on Friday, the regulator attacked the retailers on yet another front, this time accusing the supermarkets and tobacco manufacturers of unlawfully exchanging information on cigarette prices. A week earlier, it had unveiled the findings of one of its biggest investigations, naming more than 100 construction firms which it accused of bid rigging.

Since taking over as OFT chief executive 2½ years ago, the former Trinity College lecturer has repeatedly hit the headlines with a series of high-profile inquiries. The retail sector, in particular, has been repeatedly targeted. As well as the tobacco probe, the supermarkets and some dairy manufacturers remain embroiled in a controversial investigation into the prices of butter, milk and cheese.

Manufacturers of some of the country's leading brands have been dragged into the investigation into the alleged fixing of food and toiletries prices.

According to the Daily Telegraph, up to 100 household brand names are at the centre of the allegations, including PG Tips to Coca-Cola, Andrex, Aquafresh and Anadin Extra. The paper said the OFT "hit list" runs to five A4 pages and its officials reportedly seized hundreds of e-mails between the supermarkets and their suppliers. Suppliers caught up in the probe include Procter Gamble, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark.

Fingleton's enthusiastic pursuit of those he believes have ripped-off consumers is winning him few friends in business circles. Not surprisingly, retail chiefs are particularly critical, privately claiming the OFT is now "out of control".

Criticism of Fingleton, who formerly headed Ireland's Competition Authority, has been fuelled by the humiliating and unprecedented apology the OFT was forced to make last week to supermarkets group Morrisons - along with a £100,000 payment in damages and hefty legal costs.

The embarrassing and costly climbdown by the regulator stemmed from the inaccurate and headline-grabbing press release it issued last autumn, when it mistakenly included Morrisons in the list of retailers accused of dairy price fixing. The bill will be met by taxpayers' funds.

All companies that rip-off consumers deserve to be pursued. But Fingleton may need to tread a little more carefully if he is to avoid a repetition of his mistake.

Poor show at HBOS

HALIFAX Bank of Scotland chief executive Andy Hornby chose an unusual way of asking shareholders for the £4 billion needed to shore up the bank's battered balance sheet. While other directors travelled to Glasgow yesterday to face angry shareholders, Hornby and his finance director stayed in London.

Their absence from the agm marks a new low in the treatment of ordinary investors - and, at more than two million, HBOS has more private shareholders than any other listed company on the London stock exchange as a result of the demutualisation of the Halifax 10 years ago.

Hornby's appearance at the meeting via video screen did not go down with shareholders, one of whom walked out in protest. But HBOS should be careful of the way it treats its shareholders. Not only will they play their part in raising the £4 billion - they are also the people who provide the bank with vital funds in the form of their savings and investment accounts.

Fiona Walsh writes for the Guardian newspaper in London