A JURY is considering its verdict on a Craven man accused of accepting a £1 million bribe.

David Chambers, of Glebe House, Long Preston, has denied accepting a bribe of £1 million from entrepreneur Andrew Regan.

In a trial which has lasted five months, the prosecution told a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court that Chambers received the money in order to ensure Hobson, a food company of which his co-accused Andrew Regan was chief executive, continued to supply the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS).

Regan is accused of stealing £2.4 million from Hobson in 1995 and channelling the money through another company to pay £1 million each in bribes to two senior Co-op executives.

Chambers was the chief buyer at the Co-op and he and Allan Green, the chief executive, are accused of corruption in accepting the £1 million through an offshore company.

The prosecution alleged that Regan diverted £2.4 million from Hobson's accounts into Trellis, a company registered in the Virgin Islands. Trellis was alleged to have retained £400,000 and paid the remaining £2 million into two companies with accounts in Jersey - Pitchblend, which the prosecution said was controlled by Chambers, and Monovale, alleged to be controlled by Green.

The two Co-op executives claimed that the money was a loan for a business investment.

Green told the court of his surprise that Ronald Zimet, the Dutch businessman who owned Trellis, had been paid £2.4 million for his role in negotiating an extension of Hobson's lucrative supply agreement with CWS.

Days later two £1 million payments were made to the offshore companies controlled by Green and Chambers.

Green told the jury he had known Mr Zimet was acting as an adviser to Hobson, but said the Dutchman "certainly didn't broker the supply agreement deal". Green said he had spoken to Mr Zimet by phone to discuss the supply agreement, but the conversation had drifted on to Green's plans to team up with Chambers and make a takeover bid for Budgens, the convenience store chain.

Green said he sent letters outlining his business plans to Mr Zimet, but had never met him. Less than a week later, Green said he was surprised to learn a solicitor had been instructed to set up the firms Monavale and Pitchblend.