Guardian apologises over Tesco tax claims

National newspaper the Guardian has apologised to Tesco for incorrectly claiming the supermarket chain had avoided up to £1 billion of corporate tax.

The charges relate to a Guardian article which alleged that Cayman Island structures used by Tesco had allowed it to make the savings, Accountancy Age reports.

However, in a series of articles last Saturday (May 3rd), the newspaper then alleged that while their original statement was incorrect, in fact the supermarket's tax structure was designed to avoid stamp duty land tax.

Both statements were then withdrawn by the newspaper in an editorial which stated: "We are happy to withdraw both assertions and apologise."

The editorial added that it would be willing to go to court to defend its journalistic credibility regarding the issue, asserting that questions still remain over the Tesco's tax set-up.

Tesco recently reported an 11 per cent yearly rise in profits for the period up to February 23rd, 2008.