Tesco expands priority list for hundreds of disabled shoppers

Hundreds of disabled people can now be added to Tesco's priority shopping list after legal action was taken by a disabled mother unable to buy food.

Joanne Baskett, 48, who cannot leave her house, says she was discriminated against because she could not secure an online shopping slot.

A further 318 people sent claims to all of the UK's major supermarkets for breaching the Equality Act 2010.

Tesco has now agreed to add all those people to its priority list.

The individuals were not named on the Government's Extremely Clinically Vulnerable list, but nevertheless felt their access requirements should be taken into consideration by supermarkets.

Food banks

Ms Baskett from Swindon, who has multiple organ paralysis, says she was unable to secure an online shopping slot after returning home from hospital at the end of March.

She said: "For six weeks I would stay awake until midnight to try and get a slot but I couldn't. It has had a huge mental and physical effect on me."

She took legal action and accused the supermarket of breaching the Equality Act 2010 for not making reasonable adjustments to enable her, as a disabled person, to shop.

Chris Fry, from Fry Law, who handled the case, said: "We have been hearing so many heart-breaking stories about people unable to leave the house and having to rely on the charity of friends and families and even foodbanks.

"This is just the first step but it's going to improve many people's lives."

The other claimants include people with sight loss, mobility issues, agoraphobia and some who have to shield due to multiple health conditions.

In a statement, Tesco urged customers facing similar issues to contact them directly.