Deal lawyers have blasted moves by the UK’s main competition watchdog to ditch its confidential guidance procedure, warning it will increase pressure on advisers and lead to a rise in bogus bids.

The move will see the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) end its policy of giving confidential guidance and informal advice to parties considering mergers not yet in the public domain. The OFT announced it was ending the procedure earlier this month citing a lack of resources.