TESCO has come under fire for failing to offer consumers the choice of British beef during the festive period.

While the supermarket chain has just announced the best seasonal profits it has had for the past five years, the National Beef Association has criticised a buying policy it describes as “cheapest first”.

The association, which has its head office at Hexham Mart, has been contacted by consumers in several parts of the country complaining about the lack of British beef on Tesco shelves.

Some of them had been sent a statement in which Tesco said it currently found Irish beef to be of better quality.

The statement continued: “This is the reason for you seeing so much Irish beef on the shelves, customer satisfaction is very important to us and we are constantly monitoring our products.”

But the National Beef Association’s chief executive, Chris Mallon, said in response: “It is shameful for Tesco to blame the quality of British product for its absence on Tesco shelves.

“The real reason is their buying policy which prioritises ‘cheapest first’.

“It shows a complete disregard for Tesco’s UK suppliers to put out statements falsely informing consumers that British product is inferior, instead of admitting that they source on price.”

Tesco’s decision to abandon British beef on the run up to Christmas, he said, could be explained by a snapshot of prices paid to farmers for the week ending November 18, when supermarkets were sourcing meat for the festive season.

The British average price was 378.9p/kg compared to 333.7p/kg for Irish beef.

Mr Mallon said: “Hence, Irish beef was a cheap substitute for British beef and therefore more appealing to Tesco red meat buyers.

“I have spoken to several beef processors, of which none had experienced any problems with the quality or availability of British beef at the end of 2017.

“A blatant lie from the supermarket giant.”

British beef was renowned worldwide for its provenance, traceability, eating quality and high welfare standards and as such, he questioned Tesco’s methods of quality assessment.

And with Brexit looming, he worried for the future. This “cheapest first” policy would be destructive for British farmers and consumers alike.

“Tesco’s buying policy will eventually not increase choice, but reduce it as British producers leave the industry after being swamped with food produced under standards unacceptable in the UK,” he said.

“Consumers want to buy British beef and I give Tesco the opportunity to make the same commitment to buying British as local farm shops, Co-op, Morrisons, Waitrose, M&S, Lidl and Aldi.”