Tesco dairy fixing fine is cut to £6.5m

Tesco will pay a reduced £6.5m fine for its part in a dairy price-fixing scandal following an appeal ruling.

The £10m fine initially imposed was cut after the retailer won a partial victory against the Office of Fair Trading. The Competition Appeal Tribunal overturned more than half of the findings by the OFT that Tesco colluded with other retailers and suppliers to fix cheese prices, which the regulator estimated had added 2p to a litre of milk.

The tribunal said there was "insufficient evidence" Tesco was involved in a concerted effort to rig cheese prices in 2003. But it upheld the OFT's conclusion that it communicated its pricing to rivals through a supplier three times in 2002.