Tesco chief says drop due to 'consumers spending less'

Tesco has reported a sharp drop in profits during the first half of its financial year.

The UK's biggest supermarket chain saw its pre-tax profits drop by 23.5% to £1.39bn.

The firm's chief executive, Philip Clarke, said Tesco was making progress and was strengthening its UK business, but that he saw little improvement in consumers' spending power.