Sir Ken Morrison dies at Aged 85

Sir Ken Morrison has died aged 85 following a short illness, his family said.

Sir Ken helped grow supermarket Morrisons from a small grocery chain into one of the UK's largest retailers.

He died peacefully at home in North Yorkshire, his family said in a statement.

"Sir Ken was, of course, a unique figure in the history of grocery retailing in the UK," the family said.

"He had a gentle humour and kindness about him and he could, and would, talk with genuine interest to anyone," they said.

Supermarket chain Morrisons said: ""Sir Ken was an inspirational retailer who led Morrisons for more than half a century... [he] will be greatly missed by many thousands of his current and former colleagues, a large number of whom became close personal friends over the years."

Sir Ken was well known for being forthright in his views, once telling shareholders in strong language that he disliked the former chief executive Dalton Philips' turnaround plan. 

He said: "The results were described by the chairman and chief executive as 'disappointing'. I personally thought they were disastrous."