Sharma told Parliament’s business committee last week that he was considering relaxation of the rules, which limit big stores to six hours of trading on Sundays, the Financial Times reported.

During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, grocers faced a rush of panic shopping and cut opening hours to enable replenishment and cleaning. While stockpiling has moderated since, changes introduced in store, such as social distancing and management of footfall, make it more difficult to trade in the limited Sunday hours.