finger in the pie

Investigators, he said, should "be left alone" to carry out their work "free from interference from states, governments, or anybody else who has a finger in the pie".

“Everybody gets their finger in the pie, and they turn it into mush.”

Vivendi has a stake in France’s Canal Plus and has a finger in the pie in Italian pay television via Telecom Italia Telecom Italia, while Sky has strong positions in Britain and Germany.

Five years ago, when Ms. Mack had several serious medical problems that put her in the hospital for nearly seven months, "my care coordinator had her finger in the pie all the time," she said.

"And banks being forced to compete on their customer proposition is the way in which this problem can solve itself, without the need from regulators like me to start sticking their finger in the pie."