Rebecca Long Bailey MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on the proposed merger of Sainsbury’s and Asda, said:

“This merger risks squeezing what little competition there is in the groceries market even further and moves alarmingly close to the creation of a supermarket monopoly.

“It will be shoppers that suffer from rising prices and workers that will fear for their jobs if this goes ahead.

“The proposed merger should be investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority as a matter of urgency.”