Speaking after he delivered the annual British Retail Consortium lecture, Tim Steiner said the reaction of Waitrose to Ocado's tie-up with Morrisons has been a �joke�.

Flybe's made the announcement as it updated markets on its turnaround plan. This included pushing back the delivery of 16 new aircraft by three to four years to help it return to profitability by reducing pre-delivery payment charges this year.

Shares in car parts and bicycle retailer Halfords were hit after it posted a big drop in annual profits. Pre-tax profits for the 12 months to end-March fell almost 25% to �71m compared with a year earlier.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde has arrived at a court in Paris for questioning over a payout to a controversial tycoon during her time as finance minister.

Mothercare posted another big loss in the last financial year, but the UK retailer said it was making good progress with its turnaround plan.