In Brief
Two tobacco giants and 11 retailers have been accused of unlawfully fixing the prices of cigarettes by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). A statement of objections has been issued by the OFT detailing charges against Gallaher, makers of Silk Cut and Benson & Hedges, Imperial Tobacco (whose brands include Lambert & Butler and Embassy) as well as retailers Tesco, J Sainsbury, Asda and Wm Morrison, the Co-operative Group, off-licence group First Quench, Shell, Somerfield and convenience store groups T&S Stores and TM Retail. The OFT claims that between 2000 and 200, these firms made arrangements that restricted the ability of each retailer to determine its selling price independently.
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