Breakfast briefing: Retail news on BHS, Tesco and M&S

MPs want to grill Sir Philip Green's wife Lady Tina Green

Lady Green, the wife of former BHS owner Sir Philip Green, could be called to appear before MPs amid an inquiry into the retailer's collapse.

Iain Wright, chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills committee, said he wanted to ask further questions about the Green family’s financial arrangements and corporate governance inside the Arcadia retail empire.

Sir Philip Green was grilled by MPs on the committee yesterday, but Tina Green could also face a probe over her ownership of Arcadia and the couple’s controversial tax affairs. They are based in tax haven Monaco. 

Wright said: “We want to get much more detail on the structure of various companies, particularly those owned by Lady Green, the profits they have made and tax they have paid.

"We have further questions for Sir Philip, particularly big questions on the pension fund he was unable to answer.”

Tesco accepts wasting 119m meals every year

Tesco has revealed that it wasted 59,400 tonnes of food last year - the equivalent of 119 million meals.

The supermarket giant, which is the only grocer to publish food waste data, said the figure represented a 4% increase year-on-year, driven by surplus beers, wines and spirits and bakery products. The increase meant that one in every 100 food products sold by Tesco during its last financial year was wasted.

Speaking at an industry conference, Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis called for suitable action to handle food waste management right across the supply chain, from farms to customers' homes. 

“When I arrived at Tesco, we were the only UK retail company to publish our food waste data,” Lewis said

“What the data shows is that it’s clear where we need to focus our efforts…nearly three years after we announced it, we are still the only UK retailer publishing our data.”

M&S boosts basic pay but scraps rates for working antisocial hours

Marks & Spencer has been accused of cutting the pay of nearly 10% of its shop-floor workers after scrapping premiums for working weekends and antisocial hours and trimming bank holiday payments.

The retailer said it is increasing basic pay for its 69,000 store staff by 15% from next April to £8.50 per hour, but has neutralised the cost by eliminating the special pay rates.

Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh suggested that some staff members would lose nearly £2,000 a year due to the changes. “This is not just any pay cut. This is a big fat M&S pay cut,” she said.