TOO many Tesco supermarkets are opening up in London’s East End, according to one householder.

Anna Begum wondered if the Town Hall may have been unduly influenced by big business.

“Can you confirm if any councillors are linked to Tesco directly or work for organisations lobbying on their behalf?” she asked in a public question at last night’s Tower Hamlets Council meeting.

All councillors had to declare any commercial interests by law, she was told, and none had done so.

But Miss Begum wasn’t satisfied and asked if Cllr Joshua Peck (pictured) was being paid to lobby for the supermarket giant.

It brought an immediate response from Cllr Peck: “This allegation has been knocking around for a year. Various journalists have found it false, without any basis.”

The Scottish branch of the marketing firm he once worked for had a contract with Tesco, he revealed, but that wasn’t in Tower Hamlets or in London or even in England.

He added: “I have no connection with Tesco—except at the checkout.”