GCA which does not consider price paid to suppliers ‘set up in wrong way’

But Mr Parish, who joined the BEIS committee hearing, said he was ‘amazed’ Ms Tacon was not more concerned about the potential for a new mega-retailer to make 10 per cent savings by squeezing suppliers.

“When we set you up, that is what we thought you were going to do,” he said.

“We probably set you up in the wrong way. I think you do a good job as far as you go, but every time we put an idea to you that we want to extend your remit, you resist it.”

Ms Tacon repeatedly told the committee she believed she had enough powers already to make a change for producers, citing evidence from her annual survey which showed the number of retailer suppliers who experienced a breach of the Groceries Code had halved in the five years she had been in post.

Regulating

She went on to suggest the Government’s time might be better spent regulating other sectors instead of looking to do more in the groceries market.

But she was criticised by MPs for failing to acknowledge the changing nature of the sector.

BEIS committee chair Rachel Reeves said: “It is a bit surprising that, six years into your role, you are happy the powers you were granted then are the right powers for a very different market.

“All of us, in our constituencies, see a very different groceries market, whether because of the growth of some of the discount chains or the growth online.

“I would ask you to go away and reflect on that a little bit more.”