Judgment day for P&O Princess

BRITAIN'S competition authorities are set to tell the Government whether it should ban cruise operator Royal Caribbean's proposed merger with P&O Princess Cruises.

Secret recommendations of the Competition Commission probe will be passed to Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt - only one day before European regulators make their final decision on the rival hostile bid for P&O Princess from Carnival Cruise Lines.

The European merger taskforce could demand Carnival's billionaire chairman Micky Arison sells his beloved Cunard Line - home of the QE2 - as a pre-condition for passing its £3.8bn deal. Analysts say Brussels is highly unlikely to allow the tie-up to pass through unscathed.

Taskforce watchdogs will give a detailed statement of objectives to the two parties, while a confidential summary will be given to the many parties expected to have made representations against the proposed merger. These are believed to include consumer groups, rival cruise operators and dockyards concerned about the concentration of power in the industry.

The Competition Commission's thinking on the matter has been a closely-guarded secret. But it has let it be known that it does not accept Royal's original protestation that the merger should be viewed as a combination of two holiday companies, rather than the narrower definition of two cruise line operators.

Hewitt has a month to decide on the Commission's recommendations.