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Members of Parliament are set to question Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, on comments from one of his lieutenants over the group’s fuel price strategy, according to reports from Reuters.
The Common’s Business and Trade Committee have said they are concerned about discrepancies between statements from chief commercial officer Kris Comerford and a report from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The statements from Comerford were made on 27 June to the Business and Trade Committee.
The report from CMA stated that UK drivers who bought fuel at supermarkets in 2022 paid around 6p per litre more than they would have done otherwise due to the big four increasing their margins.
The CMA blamed the lack of competition on a decision by Asda and Morrisons, to compete less so as to achieve higher margins, and a lack of response from the other supermarkets.
Despite this, Comerford told the committee that Asda’s fuel pricing strategy had “not changed over many years”.
In a letter to the committee, Issa stated that comerford had correctly stated Asda’s position and that food and fuel prices should be seen as a single business and not separate.
The committee is also seeking clarification on Comerford’s denial that Asda is employing so-called fire and rehire tactics.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of CMA, will appear before Issa to discuss details of its market study of the road fuel market.
