Supermarket Tesco has denied claims that it has a stranglehold on the UK grocery market and that consumers still had real choce when it came to purchasing goods from retailers.

In an open report to the Competition Commission, the supermarket said that the body’s definition of what constituted “local” was flawed and that it needed to be redefined.

It added that the body underestimated how far people drove to do their shopping these days and that the grocery market is now national rather than just local.

Bur retail analyst Debbie Harrison said: “They would say that, wouldn’t they?

“Bear in mind that Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – which control almost 75% of the UK grocery market – do have a serious effect on local independent shops whenever they open a store.

“Tesco is by far the biggest of these stores, so to claim it has a stranglehold on UK consumers is not an exaggeration in my book.”

But Tesco also pointed to the growth in online shopping in support of its claim that the days of ‘local’ shops are over. It said that people ordering their groceries from home meant that geographical specificity in regard to retailers was an outdated idea.