Tesco has asked three more executives to leave the company, in its latest move since its £250m profit overstatement. 

The supermarket giant has now suspended a total of eight executives in the fall-out since the blunder.

In a statement, Tesco said: “We have asked three employees to step aside to facilitate the investigation into the potential overstatement of profits in UK food.

“We will provide an update on the investigation with our interim results on 23 October.”

The three category directors asked to step aside are reportedly William Linnane of impulse, Dan Jago of wines and spirits, and Sean McCurley of convenience.

Tesco is currently under investigation from the Financial Conduct Authority over the guidance error.

An internal investigation is also being carried out by the accountancy firm Deloitte and law firm Freshfields.

This week, chief executive Dave Lewis refreshed his board with the appointment of Compass boss Richard Cousins and former Ikea boss Mikael Ohlsson as non-executive directors.

It is not yet clear how Tesco came to overstate its profits by such a hefty sum.