Profits at Marks and Spencer fell in the six months to the end of September by nearly 10% to £290m.

General merchandise, including women's wear sales, dropped by 4% but food sales were up in the second quarter to 1.1%.

Marc Bolland, the chief executive of Marks and Spencer, told Today business presenter Simon Jack that he is already transforming the company by investing £800m in getting to grips with the latest technology used by customers.

"Call it quite dull stuff but we simply have to do because it has never been done in the business," he explained.

He said that through embracing technology, Marks and Spencer were on a "journey" of being "not only an international but also a multi-channel retailer".

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