Tesco won't shelve case despite Guardian apology

Tesco is to press ahead with its libel action against the Guardian despite the national newspaper’s apology for inaccuracies in reporting of the supermarket giant’s tax affairs.

The Guardian apologised for saying the supermarket’s complex tax avoidance structures related to corporation tax, now agreeing that it was a stamp duty land tax arrangement. It also admitted the claim that Tesco was avoiding up to £1bn in tax was incorrect and a more probable figure was around £100m.

While the newspaper was prepared to admit these errors it, gave a robust defence over its coverage of Tesco. ‘We remain ready to defend our journalism ­ in court, if necessary. We believe these matters should be subject to debate and scrutiny and we invite informed analysis from any readers with an experience in accountancy or tax law. It is our hope that the resulting debate should help illuminate future discussions from MPs, journalists and other members of civil society.’

A Tesco spokesman said: ‘The Guardian Media Group has a serious case to answer and we look forward to receiving their defence.’