He would never ask for it but I'm feeling a little sorry for Peter Freeman. The chairman of the Competition Commission has just spent two years investigating the grocery sector. But events have overtaken him.

First, the OFT announced a statement of objections alleging collusion in the tobacco sector. No problem. Freeman would have been aware of this as, like the dairy inquiry, the initial investigations preceded his work, and tobacco was not in his frame of reference.

But what followed massively undermined the painstaking work of Freeman and his panel. A team of OFT heavies, clutching their section 37s, descended on a number of supermarkets, demanding access to data on everything from shampoo to broccoli. Over 100 items are said to be under investigation.

Now Freeman enjoys an intellectual challenge, and in our exclusive interview, he gave a good fist of it ("cartel busting is dramatic; our job is more cerebral"). But he was clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

Admitting he found no evidence of collusion in his two-year inquiry, Freeman nevertheless believed the possibilities alluded to in the report "might be quite useful to the OFT in investigating these sorts of investigations that the OFT is reported to be investigating, if indeed they are investigating them".

What concerns me most, as the OFT's John Fingleton points the finger of blame severally in the direction of the grocery industry, is the message that has been sent to the public. With EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel arguing that food prices have risen faster than justified, and the media convinced the government and supermarkets are conspiring to cover up the real cost of price inflation, the finger of suspicion, after a not guilty verdict, hangs over the grocery sector more than ever.