Sainsbury's chief Mike Coupe speaks out against Sunday trading changes

Sainsbury's has become the first major retailer to publicly oppose proposed changes to England's Sunday trading laws.

Under the plans, larger stores' opening hours would be extended beyond the six hours they are currently allowed to trade on a Sunday.

Sainbury's chief executive Mike Coupe warned that the changes are confusing and open to abuse.

He said: “The industry is divided over whether there should be a change in the legislation, but one thing the industry is completely agreed on is that the current form of legislation is not a sensible way of going about it.”

The Government wants to hand over the power to extend opening hours to local authorities, but Coupe warned that in towns where boundaries run along high streets, it could lead to one side with stores open later on a Sunday, while those on the other side are closed.

Council officials could deem whether an area is suitable for longer opening, depending on local opinions.

But Coupe said: “The laws at the moment are open to interpretation and abuse. There’s a lot of complexity in the way it’s being framed.

“Anything that starts to introduce a level of complexity at whatever level makes it more challenging.

“The ideal would be the same rules applied everywhere. If it is going to be localised, there needs to be some guidelines enshrined in law, what a zone actually comprises.

“I want to see a legally enforceable definition of the zone, otherwise we could end up with all types of Spanish practice.

“At the moment it could happen that you draw a line around an Asda store and that could open and nothing else can.”

Coupe’s intervention follows similar warnings about their complexity from the industry’s trade body, the British Retail Consortium.

The Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, trade unions, religious groups and the Association of Convenience Stores have also voiced opposition to the proposed rules.

Coupe, who echoed predecessor Justin King in opposing a relaxation, said: “The current rules work and is a happy British compromise. There’s no customer demand for it or colleague demand for it.”

Analysts have suggested that part of the reason Sainsbury’s would be against extended hours on Sundays is because it could lead to a fall in business at its highly profitable convenience stores, which charge higher prices and can open longer providing they are smaller than 3,000 sq ft.