Tesco warns of ‘unprecedented’ inflation but drops price of milk

Published

3 years ago

April 13, 2023

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The impacts of higher prices are being felt in the Tesco boardroom as profits have fallen despite an increase in sales.

High energy and labour costs, along with food inflation at 17.5%, have hurt the company’s earning power.

But the retailer also announced a reduction in the price of milk for the first time since May 2020. The cost has dropped from 95p to 90p a pint and from £1.30 to £1.25 for two pints. Prices on more than 1,000 everyday items will be frozen until early July.

The chain also announced it will buy back another £750m worth of shares in addition to the £1bn it has already bought back.

It reported profits of £2.63bn, down from £2.82bn the year before despite revenues rising to £65.7bn over the year, an increase from £61.3bn a year ago.

“Our results reflect our continued investment in delivering great value and quality for our customers, whilst at the same time looking after our colleagues,” chief executive Ken Murphy said.

“This is despite unprecedented levels of inflation in the prices we have paid our suppliers for their products, and the cost of running our own operations.”

At the same time Tesco’s preliminary full-year results said it is “at the most competitive we have ever been” and Tesco prices were “meaningfully lower” than 17.5% food inflation rate.

Mr Murphy also said inflation would fall later this year, as oil and grain prices fall, but the price of rice and protein would stay high.

The retailer is pushing suppliers for price cuts and has a team to closely monitor the costs facing suppliers, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

In an effort to save £1bn by February 2024 hundreds of manager roles across shops have been cut and all remaining food counters and hot delis have been closed.

Increases in delivery costs are to be introduced. Both the minimum spend and the fee for ordering groceries online will rise from 2 May.

A £4 charge is applied when the £40 home delivery minimum spend threshold isn’t reached. The minimum spend will rise to £50 next month and the fee for not meeting it will top £5.

Tesco still enjoys a 27% market share, the largest of any supermarket, despite increasing competition from low-cost German retailers Aldi and Lidl.

The billions of profits made by Tesco in a cost of living crisis have come in for criticism.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said they are “another example of excessive profiteering fired up by astonishing corporate greed”.

“It’s this rampant profiteering which is driving inflation, and cranking up the cost of living crisis for workers and their families,” she said.

“How can it be that at a time when millions are struggling to feed their families Britain’s biggest supermarket is profiteering as never before.”

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Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

Published

7 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

A 43-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of two children in Stafford.

Police were called to a home on Corporation Street at around 7.30am on Sunday by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Two children were pronounced dead at the scene, Staffordshire Police said.

Detective Inspector Kirsty Oldfield said: “We are working hard to understand more about what happened leading up to these two children tragically losing their lives.

“We ask that people do not speculate at this stage as it is distressing for family and friends and could hinder our inquiries.

“We understand that this incident may cause concern in the local community. We don’t believe there is wider threat to the public at this time.”

The 43-year-old woman, who is from the Stafford area, remains in custody.

The force has not confirmed the ages of the two children. Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers, police said.

UK

Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

Published

9 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

A man has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family.

Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton, south London, was arrested last Monday, but it was only made public on Sunday.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody, the Met Police said.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between June and October.

Sir Ed, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, lives in southwest London with his wife, Emily, their 17-year-old son John, and his younger sister Ellie.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife.

“He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 7 October and was remanded into custody. He will next appear at the same court on Tuesday, 14 October.

“He was arrested on Monday, 6 October in relation to the offences, which are alleged to have taken place between June and October.”

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “We cannot provide any details at this time, Ed’s number one priority is the safety of his family.”

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Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

Published

19 hours ago

October 12, 2025

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Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has died after being attacked in prison.

Watkins, 48, was serving a 29-year jail term for multiple sexual offences, including serious crimes against young children and babies at HMP Wakefield, in West Yorkshire.

He was attacked with a knife by another inmate on Saturday morning, sources have confirmed.

West Yorkshire Police said two men, aged 25 and 43, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene after prison staff reported the assault to police.

The prison went into lockdown in the immediate aftermath of the incident, sources added.

A Prison Service spokesperson said they could not comment while the police investigate.

Watkins was previously stabbed in an incident at the same prison in 2023, suffering non life-threatening injuries after he was reportedly taken hostage by three other inmates before being freed by prison officers six hours later.

He was sentenced in December 2013 to 29 years in prison, with a further six years on licence, after admitting 13 sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.

He also encouraged a second fan to abuse her child during a webcam chat and secretly stashed child sexual abuse videos, some of which he had made himself.

At the time, police described him as a “committed, organised paedophile”.

Having found fame in Welsh rock band Lostprophets, Watkins was arrested after his Pontypridd home was searched on orders of a drug warrant in September 2012.

A large number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were seized during the search.

When sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court, the singer was told he was being given an extended sentence – and a judge said his crimes “plumbed new depths of depravity”.

After being caught with a mobile phone behind bars in 2019, he told a court that he was locked up with “murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers – the worst of the worst”.