The British supermarket elite have each added a ‘buy British’ button to their online websites in a move to help local suppliers.

This initiative will make it easier for shoppers to identify British food while shopping online. It follows an open letter from Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans to the chief executives of the eight major supermarkets.

These included Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Ocado and Waitrose.

In the letter Dr Evans requested the introduction of a filter to highlight homegrown products, which would help support the economy and reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.

The letter, co-signed by over 120 cross-party MPs, championed a long-standing request by the NFU to introduce such a filter from 2016.

David Exwood, deputy president of the NFU, said: “We know from our independent research that the public want to buy more British food from retailers.

“Choosing to buy British is an endorsement of the great produce reared and grown by our farmers and growers and helps contribute towards the UK economy.”

Mr Exwood praised the support shown by all eight supermarkets, proclaiming their decision an ‘excellent’ one. Alongside the 126 MPs, the campaign attracted the support of more than 35,000 members of the public.