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He joined the bosses of Sainsbury's, Currys and the British Retail Consortium in welcoming the government's consultation on the rule.

When Sainsbury's announced their latest financial results earlier this month, boss Simon Roberts called on the government to act as soon as possible.

Sainsbury's has forecast that shop profits will flatline or fall in the coming year as the supermarket sector gears up for a price war.

Sainsbury's expects the impact of lowering prices to be relatively small.

Sainsbury's set out its expectations as it revealed that full-year sales rose by 3.1% to £31.5bn.