In this newspaper last week, Barnet councillor Brian Coleman said Tesco's failure to overturn the council's decision not to allow another store in Finchley was cause for celebration'.

But this week it emerged the council has been talking to Tesco behind the scenes for more than a year about the possibility of opening a new store in Burnt Oak.

At first this would seem a case of gross hypocrisy. But there are two crucial differences between the prospect of a Tesco in Burnt Oak and one in Finchley.

There is already a Tesco in Finchley, and it was to have remained open even if the new one had been granted permission. But in Burnt Oak, the proposal is to close the existing Tesco and replace it with a bigger version.

The other difference is that Finchley and North Finchley are vibrant town centres, whereas Burnt Oak is in need of regeneration.