It is good that the competition watchdog has shed its effete incarnation of yesteryear, but on this occasion it is being too draconian No one is safe from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) these days, it seems. Under the iron fist of chief enforcer Andrew Tyrie, the watchdog is determined to ensure that consumer interests are protected at all costs, as Sainsbury’s and Asda discovered when it scuppered their merger plans last year. After the light touch of the previous regime, it is reassuring to see the UK’s competition policeman taking a tougher approach and putting the national interest first. Still, its decision to target the £90m takeover of Footsasylum by JD Sports has more than a whiff of overreach. After a six-month inquiry, the CMA says that it could leave shoppers worse off, both in-store and online. There would be fewer discounts, and customer service might worsen too. And here is the killer finding: a combination of the two high street chains “substantially lessens competition nationally”....