'Top stores meat not reared ethically'

Supermarkets are selling chickens farmed in conditions so cramped they break government guidelines.

Many are also importing meat which has been reared in ways now outlawed in Britain, according to a survey for Compassion in World Farming.

The supermarkets which sell unethical meat were named today by the organisation, and the worst are said to include Sainsbury's, Iceland and Morrisons.

The investigation discovered that broiler chickens have a space only the size of an A4 sheet of paper in which to move. This is smaller than government guidelines for intensive farming. Gary Reece, from Compassion in World Farming, said: "That is almost the same as battery hens and is not acceptable."

Only Marks & Spencer, named Compassionate Supermarket of the Year, did not buy chicken reared in such small spaces.

The survey also found that Sainsbury's sells a small amount of milk from cows kept permanently indoors and allows its poultry to travel for up to 12 hours at a time to slaughter. M&S stocks only free-range eggs while Tesco and Safeway source more than half of their eggs from free-range and organic farms.

? Compassion in World Farming scores out of 55 for compassionate products: M&S 40; Waitrose 38; Safeway 29; CWS 28; Tesco 24; Asda 23; Somerfields 23; Sainsbury's 20; Morrisons 20; Iceland 18.