Retail Week understands UK grocers are effectively split on the issue of relaxing Sunday trading laws – which currently only allow retailers that operate stores larger than 3,000 sq ft to open between 10am and 6pm.

One source with understanding of the discussions said: “It’s effectively split down the middle between those big grocers who operate large supermarkets and the smaller ones whose stores are already exempt from Sunday trading laws”.

Food retailers that operate large supermarkets have argued the laws should be relaxed as in-store social distancing measures make it impossible to safely process normal customer volumes on Sundays and large queues have been forming outside shops.