UK watchdog denies it blocked Microsoft deal on orders of US regulator

CEO of Competition and Markets Authority tells MPs decision not to allow acquisition of Activision Blizzard based on own analysis'

The UK's competition watchdog has denied acting on the orders of the Federal Trade Commission in the US, as it defended its decision last month to block Microsoft's $69bn (55bn) acquisition of the Call of Duty creator Activision Blizzard.

Speaking to MPs on the business and trade select committee, Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, said that the CMA only acts on its own assessment of the validity of a merger.