A coalition of high-profile organisations have joined forces to call for the creation of a supermarket watchdog to address the threat to small shops and protect suppliers from exploitation.
The move comes just one week after the Competition Commission (CC) began sifting through millions of emails and letters from Tesco and Asda, amid claims that they bullied their suppliers into cutting prices to finance their price wars.
The Cross Cutting Remedies Group brings together a number of key groups representing small shops, farmers, environmentalists and the Association of Convenience Stores. According to ACS public affairs manager Shane Brennan, the group aims to "hopefully find the ultimate solution or remedy to the problem in the grocery market".
The group, created by Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, has already submitted proposals to the CC, calling for the appointment of a pro-active supermarket adjudicator to keep the likes of Tesco and Asda in check. It has also demanded changes to the planning system to prevent supermarkets from dominating local areas and creating so-called 'Tesco Towns'.
"The power of the supermarkets has crossed the wire from an appropriate use of market muscle to an abuse of that power," said George.