SUPERMARKET group Wm Morrison last night landed a major blow to its larger rivals as the Government cleared the way for it to bid for Safeway.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt gave the family-run firm the go-ahead to take over the UK's fourth largest supermarket, but blocked rival bids from Tesco, Sainsbury's and Wal-Mart-owned Asda.
The ruling comes after a lengthy probe by the Competition Commission into the various bids and was welcomed by consumer groups.
Morrisons, which has been told it must sell 53 Safeway stores, a handful of which are expected to be in the North-East, is now likely to go head-to-head with retail entrepreneur Philip Green in the fight for Safeway's hand.
Mr Green has yet to table a bid and escaped the competition probe because he does not own any supermarkets.
The battle for Safeway's 479 stores began in January when Morrisons offered £2.9bn to buy the chain. Within days, the lines were set for a protracted battle as its larger rivals piled in.
But Mrs Hewitt said she agreed with the Competition Commission's conclusion that a takeover by Asda, Sainsbury's or Tesco could operate against the public interest.
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