New Tesco chairman appointed after former quits amid claims

Tesco has appointed a new chairman after the supermarket's former boss stepped down following allegations over his behaviour.

Gerry Murphy, current chairman of luxury fashion brand Burberry, will replace John Allan from September.

Mr Allan strongly denied three of four claims made against him by four women, but Tesco said they risked "becoming a distraction" to the company.

Mr Murphy said he was "delighted" to be joining the supermarket giant.

In a statement, the incoming chairman said he wanted to "pay tribute" to Mr Allan, who he said he had "known for many years".

"John has left Tesco with its business, management and board in great shape and fit for the future," he added.

Mr Murphy will step down from ingredients maker Tate & Lyle from September, another company he chairs, to "ensure he has sufficient capacity to act as chair of Tesco", the supermarket said.

The new boss has previously served as a non-executive director of British American Tobacco, Merlin Entertainments and health firm Reckitt Benckiser.

Most recently he served as group chief executive of B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher.

In May, a report in the Guardian newspaper claimed that Mr Allan had touched a Tesco employee at the Tesco's annual shareholder meeting last year.

It also alleged that Mr Allan, former president of the CBI, "grabbed" an employee at event hosting by the lobby group in 2019. He has previously said these claims were "simply untrue".

The report also claimed he made a comment about a CBI staff member's dress and bottom in 2021, but said Mr Allan does not recall this incident.

He did admit to making a comment to a female CBI worker in late 2019 about a dress suiting her figure and said he was "mortified after making the comment" and immediately apologised.

Following claims he inappropriately touched a Tesco staff member, the supermarket group said it began an "extensive review of the allegation".

Board member Byron Grote, who was interim chairman before Mr Murphy's appointment, said in May that Tesco had made "no findings of wrongdoing" against Mr Allan.

On Saturday, Mr Grote said Tesco's board was "delighted that Gerry is joining".

"He was the unanimous choice of the board and will bring to our Board a record of strong and effective boardroom leadership and a deep understanding of retail and consumer-focused businesses and corporate governance," he added.