Groceries code adjudicator Christine Tacon has lambasted Tesco over its dealings with suppliers.

Following the accounting scabdal which overtook the retailer in 2014, both the GCA and Serious Fraud Office began separate enquiries into the company’s business practices.

Ms Tacon said that the company “knowingly delayed paying money to suppliers in order to improve its own financial position. I received internal Tesco emails which encouraged Tesco staff to seek agreement from suppliers to the deferral of payments due to them in order to temporarily help Tesco margins.

"I also saw internal Tesco emails suggesting that payments should not be made to suppliers before a certain date in order to avoid underperformance against a forecasted margin."

"I found that delay in payments was a widespread issue that affected a broad range of Tesco suppliers on a significant scale," Ms Tacon added.

"The delay in payments had a financial impact on suppliers, was an administrative burden to resolve, detracted from the time available to develop customer focussed business and had a detrimental impact on some suppliers' relationships with Tesco."