BP is taking back four of the 30 former BP/Safeway Partnership sites that Tesco had agreed to buy from Morrisons last month.

Twelve of the 30 sites were subject to pre-emption rights from BP, and the oil company has decided to act on these rights, and bring four of them back into its network this month.

As with the other 31 sites that BP claimed from the former Partnership network, the four sites will be brought under the BP Shop portfolio, with a view to assessing their suitability for the Connect format in the future, said a BP spokeswoman.

Of the remaining eight sites over which BP has pre-emption rights, five will be transferred to Somerfield, and the remaining three to Tesco, leaving it with 21.