The founder of Phones 4U, John Caudwell, has blamed the collapse of the company on the “ruthless actions” of mobile phone networks Vodafone, EE and O2.

The retailer, which went into administration on Monday, has appointed PwC to oversee the administration process which puts 5,596 jobs at risk over approximately 700 stores and outlets.

Mr Caudwell has called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate whether the decisions by networks not to renew their contracts amounted to collusion to reduce competition in the marketplace.

EE told the BBC its decision to end its relationship with Phones 4U was based on its strategy to focus on its own shops and cut out intermediaries, while Vodafone rejected suggestions that it had acted inappropriately during contract negotiations.

An O2 spokesperson said: "We informed Phones 4U of our decision to stop connecting new customers through our partnership back in 2012. We subsequently took the decision not to extend our contract beyond 31st January 2014. This was a commercial decision we made independently as part of our regular review of our sales distribution."