Guardian Media Group’s Chief Executive Carolyn McCall, due to conflict of interest, regrettably resigned after 3 years on Tesco’s board as the company pursues a libel case against the company’s Guardian newspaper. She felt it would be inappropriate for her to remain in that role.

Tesco announced it had begun legal proceedings against Guardian News and Media, which publishes the Guardian, and its editor Alan Rusbridger for libel and malicious falsehood. The action relates to allegations made by the Guardian in a series of articles and a Web podcast concerning Tesco’s tax affairs.

Guardian News and Media is the national division of Guardian Media Group. It also publishes the Observer newspaper and owns guradian.co.uk