Tesco risks wrath of shoppers as it becomes latest supermarket to raise meal deal price
Customers said they were 'outraged' after it was revealed the supermarket's popular deal will increase from £4 to £4.25 on Thursday.
Meanwhile savvy shoppers with a Clubcard will see their beloved deal go from £3.60 to £3.85.
The shocking news broke when an insider posted a picture of the updated shelf labels online.
One unimpressed customer posted on X: 'Tesco meal deal going up again... genuinely outrageous. Games gone.'
Another wrote: 'Tesco meal deal price is going up again what is this absolute nonsense.'
The deal involves a main, snack and drink and includes a variety of options from sushi to iced coffee.
Last year, Tesco raised the price of the deal from £3.90 to £4 and £3.40 to £3.60 for Clubcard users.
File image: The shocking news broke when an insider posted a picture of the updated shelf labels online
And in 2022 the deal increased for the first time in a decade.
Boots was the first retailer to sell a meal deal back in 1985, but supermarkets later followed suit with similar offerings and it is now a highly competitive market.
A Tesco spokesperson said: 'Our meal deal remains great value and the ideal way to grab lunch on-the-go at just £3.85 for a main, snack and drink when bought with a Clubcard.
'With more than 20m possible combinations the Tesco meal deal has got something for every taste, from a classic Chicken Club Sandwich to Tesco Korean Style Chicken Dragon Rolls.'
In January, it was revealed that the most popular Tesco meal deal was the Chicken Club Sandwich emerging as the go-to main, Tesco Egg Protein Pot as the most popular snack, along with the returning top drink of Coca-Cola 500ml.
Prior to that the nation's go-to combination for Tesco's lunchtime Meal Deal has been Tesco Sausage Bacon & Egg Triple, McCoy's Flame Grilled Steak Grab Bag Crisps 45g and Coca-Cola 500ml.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Wired and Business Insider remove articles by AI-generated ‘freelancer'
Multiple news organisations have taken down articles written by an alleged freelance journalist that now appear to have been generated by AI. On Thursday, Press Gazette reported that at least six publications, including Wired and Business Insider, have removed articles from their websites in recent months after it was discovered that the stories – written under the name of Margaux Blanchard – were AI-generated. Wired published a story titled 'They Fell in Love Playing Minecraft. Then the Game Became Their Wedding Venue' in May. A few weeks later, the outlet took down the story, stating in an editor's note: 'After an additional review of the article … Wired editorial leadership has determined this article does not meet our editorial standards.' The story cited a 'Jessica Hu', an alleged 34-year old 'ordained officiant based in Chicago' who reportedly 'made a name for herself as a 'digital celebrant', specialising in ceremonies across Twitch, Discord and VRChat', according to Press Gazette, which reviewed the Wired article. Both the Press Gazette and the Guardian were not able to verify the identity of Hu. Press Gazette further reported that in April, Business Insider published two essays by Blanchard titled: 'Remote work has been the best thing for me as a parent but the worst as a person' and 'I had my first kid at 45. I'm financially stable and have years of life experience to guide me.' Earlier this week, Business Insider removed the articles after Press Gazette alerted the outlet over the authenticity of the author. Both article pages now feature a message saying that the stories were 'removed because [they] didn't meet Business Insider's standards'. The Guardian has contacted both Wired and Business Insider for comment. Press Gazette says it was first alerted to the inauthenticity of Blanchard's articles by Jacob Furedi, editor of a new magazine called Dispatch. Furedi said that he received a pitch from Blanchard earlier this month about 'Gravemont, a decommissioned mining town in rural Colorado that has been repurposed into one of the world's most secretive training grounds for death investigation'. In the pitch, which Furedi shared with Press Gazette, Blanchard wrote: 'I want to tell the story of the scientists, ex-cops, and former miners who now handle the dead daily – not as mourners, but as archivists of truth. I'll explore the ethical tightrope of using real human remains in staged environments, the shadow economy of body donations, and the emotional toll on those who make a living from simulated tragedy. 'I'm the right person for this because I've reported on hidden training sites before, have clearance contacts in forensic circles, and know how to navigate sensitive, closed-off communities with empathy and discretion,' she added. Furedi told the Press Gazette that pitch sounded like it was generated by ChatGPT and couldn't find details about Gravemont. The Guardian has also not been able to verify details of the alleged town. Upon asking Blanchard how she discovered the town, she replied: 'I'm not surprised you couldn't find much – Gravemont doesn't advertise itself. I first heard about it while interviewing a retired forensic pathologist for an unrelated piece.' She went on to say: 'Over the next few months, I pieced together more through a mix of public records requests, conversations with former trainees, and hints buried in conference materials from forensic associations. None of them referred to it by name in print, but the details lined up. Eventually, I spoke with a former miner from the area who confirmed the site's transformation after the mine closure. 'It's one of those places that exists in the industry's collective memory, but just under the radar enough to evade coverage – which is exactly why I think it would resonate with Dispatch readers,' Blanchard added. Furedi told Press Gazette that despite the pitch seeming 'very convincing', he knew she was 'bullshitting'. He asked Blanchard for public record requests, about her standard rate and how long she planned to spend in the field. In response, Blanchard ignored Furedi's request to see public records requests and instead said she would 'ideally spend 5-7 days on the ground' and be paid around $670, Press Gazette reports. Last Friday, Furedi accused Blanchard via email of publishing false stories to which she has not responded. Press Gazette further reports that Blanchard has not responded to its own request for her to provide evidence that she is a real person. This incident of false AI-generated reporting follows a May error when the Chicago Sun-Times' Sunday paper ran a syndicated section with a fake reading list created by AI. Marco Buscaglia, a journalist who was working for King Features Syndicate, turned to AI to help generate the list, saying: 'Stupidly, and 100% on me, I just kind of republished this list that [an AI program] spit out … Usually, it's something I wouldn't do … Even if I'm not writing something, I'm at least making sure that I correctly source it and vet it and make sure it's all legitimate. And I definitely failed in that task.' Meanwhile, in June, the Utah court of appeals sanctioned a lawyer after he was discovered to have used ChatGPT for a filing he made in which he referenced a nonexistent court case.
Times
6 minutes ago
- Times
Is this the right time to buy shares in Pagegroup?
The last time this column looked at Pagegroup back in January 2024, the recruiters were coming off the back of a tough 12 months but there was optimism that a rebound was not too far away. Fast-forward 18 months and the market slowdown that began towards the end of 2022 is still here: companies are not hiring and candidates are not moving. This is the longest downturn anyone in the industry can remember. The Tempus advice to avoid Pagegroup was sage: since the start of last year, shares in the company are down 46 per cent. Pagegroup enjoyed a couple of record years after the pandemic during the 'great resignation' as people, after months sitting at home, rethought what they wanted from a job. It helped, too, that in their rush to ready themselves for the post-lockdown economic rebound, companies were offering generous pay increases to rebuild their workforces. That mini-boom came to an end almost three years ago and the intervening period has been marked by rapid inflation, spiralling interest rates, wars and general economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Page's fee income has been falling since the start of 2023 and it is still dropping. Earlier this month it dashed any hopes of an imminent improvement in the market having seen, if anything, a 'slight deterioration in activity levels' in Europe over the summer, particularly in Germany and France, the two largest countries. No one in the industry knows when the market will pick up again, but it almost certainly will not be this calendar year. The timeline for a recovery has been pushed back so many times that recruitment firms have stopped offering their predictions. Page has suffered more than some of its rivals because of its reliance on filling full-time roles for its clients. Permanent hiring still makes up 72 per cent of its fee income, versus 28 per cent for its contracting division. Many of those companies that are still hiring are bringing in workers on fixed-term contracts to oversee specific projects. Page has said that this trend is because companies, faced with uncertainty, are seeking 'more flexible options'. In response to the prolonged downturn, the company has shaved £15 million from its annual cost base, a chunk of which has come from cutting its headcount. In 2022, it had more than 7,000 recruiters but its staff numbers have since been reduced by about a quarter as its fees have dried up over the past couple of years. It now has 5,163 recruiters around the world, having cut a further 207 consultant roles so far in 2025. It has also done away with special dividends, which tripled investors' income in the good years. Due to the sometimes drastic measures, Page is just about keeping its head above water. In the first six months of 2025, it made a profit of £200,000, down from £27.7 million in the same period of 2024. For context, in the first half of 2022, it made a pre-tax profit of £114.5 million. Its shares still look expensive relative to peers though. Its enterprise value-to-underlying profit ratio of 9.4 times compares with 7.4 times at Hays, for example. • Recruiter Hays slashes dividend after 90% drop in profits Analysts at Panmure Liberum expect Page will turn an underlying profit of about £22 million this year — not too dissimilar to what it made in 2009, during the depths of the financial crisis, and in the lockdown-hit 2020. Management's target of achieving an underlying profit of £400 million currently looks unreachable, but they have stuck with it. Even when the recovery does come, there remain long-term doubts not just about Page but the recruitment industry more generally. Advances in artificial intelligence mean companies' internal HR teams can now scan through hundreds of CVs and cover letters and pick out four or five people for an in-person interview. Social media, particularly LinkedIn, has made hunting for jobs or candidates off your own bat that bit easier. Given the shares' performance over the past 12 months, and with Page's focus on permanent hiring making it more exposed to the economic cycle, any sniff of a pick-up in activity will boost its share price. But no one expects that inflection point to arrive soon. There is too much uncertainty, both in the short and long term, to recommend buying shares in Pagegroup — especially at a time when the broader London stock market is hitting fresh records almost daily. Advice Avoid Why Outlook remains uncertain and AI poses a threat
Times
17 minutes ago
- Times
Café worker wins £20,000 for being forced to work in the cold
A worker at a café which sold cheesecake has won more than £20,000 after complaining that working with the door open made her cold. Leila Ayad claimed her managers at Whipped in Covent Garden, central London, insisted on leaving the door open, even in winter, to encourage customers inside. Temperatures inside the café dropped to 12C, London central employment tribunal was told, meaning that Ayad would wear 'three layers and a thermal vest' to stay warm. The owners also refused to buy a heater until after Ayad complained that the Health and Safety Executive's guidance suggested temperatures should be a minimum of 16C. When Ayad complained that it was 'difficult to work' when the temperature dropped her hours were reduced and she was later sacked. Ayad, who worked as a part-time shop assistant between May 2023 and April last year, has been awarded £21,553.51 in compensation after successfully suing for unfair dismissal. The employment judge Jillian Brown said she thought Ayad was 'reasonable in her belief that health and safety was being endangered'. In November 2023, Ayad messaged a work group chat, which included the owners, saying the temperature in the shop was getting 'very cold' but the shop manager had told her they would not be getting a heater nor were they allowed to close the door. She wrote: 'Please may this be reconsidered as it was very cold all day today and it's difficult to work like that.' Whipped co-founder Alice Churchill, who worked at The Ritz and Le Gavroche before moving into private catering and supper clubs, responded that the last time the shop had a heater it almost burnt down because a piece of paper was left on it while it was on overnight. Ayad replied that staff would be 'responsible' if they were given a new heater, adding: 'The shop was at 12C today. Also with restocking the fridge etc we are constantly in cold.' The following month she told her manager about the health and safety guidance on minimum temperatures. Later the same day, Churchill said in the chat that a heater had been ordered. In January, Ayad was called to a meeting by Churchill's husband and co-founder Jamie Musialek and was accused of being late, having a messy stockroom and 'criticising him and his wife at the staff Christmas party'. Her working hours were reduced and she was told this was because of a lack of available hours, but the tribunal found this was not the case. It also found staff at the café were 'frequently late'. She was fired by email in April. Her boss said it was because her work was not improving after 'formal warnings regarding poor timekeeping, attitude towards the role and respect for team and workplace'. Ayad was dismissed without notice and was not paid outstanding wages and holiday pay. Brown found Ayad's comments 'appeared to be for the benefit of all employees'. She noted that other employees had raised concerns about the cold, but 'it appeared to be [Ayad]'s reference to health and safety which prompted the purchase of the heater'. The judge said that Ayad was unfairly dismissed because she made 'protected disclosures' about the temperature of the café. Her other claims, including for wrongful dismissal and failure to pay notice pay, were also successful. Whipped café closed in June this year, and the parent company WL Retail has gone into liquidation.
