Sir Terry Leahy "very disappointed" with performance of Tesco

"As a shareholder I am very disappointed," Sir Terry told Ian King Live on Sky News.

"I know the business will be disappointed and the board will be keen to take whatever action is necessary in order to improve the situation.

"Tesco is a great business and it's a great employer. We need to see it back with confidence and growing again."

A number of former directors at Tesco have privately questioned Mr Clarke's ability to turnaround the retailer.

Last week Mr Clarke insisted he will not resign as Tesco chief executive despite the supermarket chain reporting a sharp drop in sales.

Mr Clarke said: “I have never been more determined. I’m not going anywhere. I am going to see through a fundamental reshaping of Tesco.”

Mr Clarke was also backed by a top 10 investor in Tesco, David Herro at Harris Associates, who blamed the company's problems on post management.

He said it would be “pointless” to draw conclusions from the like-for-like sales figure until Tesco had completed its store modernisation programme.

“This is a lot about nothing,” he said of the fall in sales. “It is too early to make a sound judgement on the success of the business transformation programme. It is not something that happens overnight. This is a short-term number.”

more