Waitrose today squared up to the might of Tesco after managing director, Mark Price, refused to retract comments he made about Britain's largest supermarket.

A spokeswoman for Waitrose said that Mr Price would not retract a comment he made to The Grocer magazine that Tesco was using its financial might to stamp out rivals, after he consulted Waitrose's in-house lawyers.

According to reports, Sir Terry Leahy wants Mr Price to take back remarks made just as the Competition Commission prepares to publish its preliminary findings into the British supermarket industry.

Mr Price told The Grocer: "The commission needs to realise what is happening. They [Tesco] are so aggressive and will buy everything to keep out the competition."

Waitrose's spokeswoman said this morning that the supermarket was "bemused" by the whole episode, adding: "[Mr Price] has spoken to [Sir Terry] and as far as we are concerned the matter is over."

However, she did add that Sir Terry had made some "scathing" remarks about Ocado, the internet grocer that sells Waitrose products. Earlier this month, Sir Terry said that Ocado's business model was not sustainable.

Tesco was unavailable for comment.

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