Two British supermarket retailers have been ordered to hand over millions of emails and letters as part of a Competition Commission inquiry .
The watchdog is investigating allegations that both Tesco and Asda have been pressurising suppliers to reduce prices.
The move is part of a two-year inquiry launched in 2006 regarding the sales methods and market dominance of the UK’s ‘big four’ supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons .
The supermarkets have responded by denying any wrong-doing and have stated that a strict code of conduct is followed when dealing with suppliers .
A spokesman for the Competition Commission confirmed legal notices, called Section 109s, had been served on Tesco and Asda and added that the notices would allow the watchdog to investigate more thoroughly.
“We are being thorough and using our powers where we can,” he added.
A spokeswoman for Asda said: “We adhere to the code of conduct between suppliers and supermarkets. During the period which the commission want to see our correspondence, there were about 11 million emails to suppliers .
“But we are happy to help and we have got absolutely nothing to hide.”
The £120 billion supermarket sector was referred to the Competition Commission by The Office of Fair Trading in May last year, amid claims that the larger supermarkets had become bully’s in the market sector by forcing smaller grocery stores out of business .
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