Tesco pushes off £200m trolley war

Tesco has turned up the heat in the latest supermarket price war with a £200m campaign to reduce prices on more than a 1,000 "everyday" products.

In the first week for incoming chief executive Philip Clarke, who replaces Sir Terry Leahy tomorrow, Tesco has launched the campaign to knock £10.18p off a trolley-load of goods that would have previously cost £51. Richard Brasher, Tesco's new UK chief, said this was the shop's way "to keep household spending manageable".

One competitor, WalMart-owned Asda, began a "price guarantee" last year and has pledged that its groceries will be at least 10 per cent cheaper than those of its rivals.