Premier Foods has said that it is to "simplify" its debated practice of requesting that its suppliers pay for the right to do business with them.

The company, which owns brands including Bisto and Hovis, was strongly criticised after it was revealed they had received millions of pounds from such payments.

Chief executive of Premier, Gavin Darby, said the company will drop its request for investment from suppliers but will instead seek a discount on the prices it pays for goods. He did not apologise for the company’s behaviour and said its requests had been “widely misunderstood and misinterpreted”.

Mr Darby added: "Our invest for growth programme has worked well for us over the last 18 months in allowing us to consolidate our supplier base and invest in innovation, marketing and promotions to support our brands. Many of our suppliers have chosen to invest with us and have grown their business as a result, despite the challenging market environment,"

Nevertheless, Premier said it would now revert to a more "conventional" scheme.