LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's office was not involved in Kraft Heinz's (>> Kraft Heinz Co) decision to withdraw its $143 billion bid for Unilever (>> Unilever plc), her spokesman said on Monday.

On Sunday, the Financial Times reported that May, who previously criticized Kraft's 2010 acquisition of another British firm, had ordered officials to examine the proposed deal and whether it merited government intervention. [nL8N1G40P0]

"I think the issue of the withdrawal from the Unilever deal by Kraft is an issue you should put to Kraft. Number 10 wasn't involved in it," the spokesman told reporters.

"The simple fact is that the bid has been withdrawn so I don't have a view on a bid that doesn't exist."

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Writing by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by William James)

Stocks treated in this article : Unilever plc, Kraft Heinz Co