Kraft Foods executive to attend MP grilling

Marc Firestone, the executive vice president of Kraft Foods, will this morning take the stand at a Business, Innovative and Skills Committee meeting into the Kraft Foods takeover of Cadbury. There is growing criticism that Kraft Foods may well have allegedly misled investors and politicians during the takeover period when it was suggested that a particular Cadbury factory under threat of closure would remain open under the new owners.

Kraft Foods has since performed a U-turn on the closure of the factory in question which has attracted widespread criticism from the business community, investors and the government. However, it is also worth remembering that the factory had already been earmarked for closure by Cadbury management prior to the takeover by Kraft Foods.

There is no doubt that the vice president of Kraft Foods can expect a tough time at today's committee meeting with many politicians looking to grab the headlines in the run-up to the election. The truth is it is difficult to introduce employment protection laws in the UK with regards to takeovers and mergers while expecting overseas counterparts to welcome UK acquisitions with open arms.

It is likely that the so called "Cadbury law" being called for by many MPs will be kicked into the long grass and forgotten about after the election.