The Office of Fair Trading is continuing its case against Aberdeen Journals Ltd, which it believes has abused its dominant market position.

In July last year the OFT ruled that Aberdeen Journals had infringed the Competition Act 1998 by using its position in an attempt to remove the Aberdeen & District Independent from the market.

The investigation found that Aberdeen Journals incurred losses on the Herald & Post in an attempt to expel its only rival, and was fined £1.328m.

However, in March this year the Competition Commission Appeal Tribunal said that this decision should be set aside, on the basis that the market definition on which the decision was made was not sufficiently reasoned.

The door was then left open for a further OFT assessment of the case, and it is now proposing to again rule that Northcliffe-owned Aberdeen Journals had infringed the Competition Act 1998.

The OFT has written to the newspaper publisher setting out why it proposes to find that the company was guilty of predatory pricing during March 2000, and that it abused its dominant market position.

Aberdeen Journals now has until June 28 to make written representations in response to the proposed decision, and a further two weeks to make oral representations.

These will be taken fully into account before a final decision is made in the autumn.