Three former Tesco executives have denied fraud charges in relation to the £326 million (€361m) accounting scandal at the supermarket.

Carl Rogberg (50), Chris Bush (51) and John Scouler (49) appeared at London's Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, charged with fraud by abuse of position and false accounting.

The supermarket’s former finance chief, managing director and food commercial head were investigated for their alleged role in an accounting scandal in which Tesco was found to have inflated its profits by £326 million in 2014.

They allegedly failed to correct inaccurately inflated income figures for the supermarket, which were published to auditors, other Tesco employees and the wider market.

In a courtroom packed with legal teams and Tesco representatives, the three men each entered formal not guilty pleas. A trial is due to begin next month.

All three have been released on unconditional bail. – (PA)