A FORMER Morrisons supermarket boss who made more than £79,000 from insider trading has been jailed for one year, a City watchdog has said.

Paul Coyle, former group treasurer and head of tax at the Bradfordbased firm, committed a “serious breach of trust” by trading in Ocado shares during talks between the retailers about a proposed joint venture, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Coyle, 50, from Harrogate, was also handed a confiscation order of £203,234 and ordered to pay £15,000 costs when he was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court.

The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of insider dealing in the case brought by the FCA.

An FCA spokesman said Coyle had access to confidential pricesensitive information about ongoing talks at Morrisons regarding a proposed joint venture with online supermarket Ocado Group plc between January 2013 and May 2013.

He used this information to trade in Ocado shares between February and May 2013 using two online accounts in the name of his partner.

Profits from the dealing exceeded £79,000.

Mr Justice Globe, sentencing Coyle to 12 months in prison, said the offending was so serious an immediate custodial sentence must be imposed.

Georgina Philippou, director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Mr Coyle committed a serious breach of trust by using the confidential pricesensitive information he received as part of his role at Morrisons for his own personal gain.

“Abuse of inside information in this way undermines the integrity of the UK financial markets.

“We are committed to prosecuting insider dealing to ensure our markets remain a level playing field for all participants.”

A Morrisons spokeswoman said: “While this was a regrettable case of an individual acting alone, we are pleased that our governance and processes were sufficiently robust to enable the authorities to achieve a successful prosecution.

“We are also pleased that the case has concluded and that the FCA’s investigation did not raise wider concerns for the company.”