Rami Baitieh, Morrisons’ chief executive, said the changes were a “necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate” the chain and invest in areas that “customers really value”.

In most locations, the Morrisons cafe has a “bright future”, but a small number have specific local challenges which made closures “the only sensible option”, Mr Baitieh said.

The chief executive said it was committed to the Market Street model – which offers fresh meals such as pizza, pies and rotisserie chicken for takeaway in some shops – but that parts of it were “simply uneconomic”.

Some fresh food counters or cafes in shops could be replaced with specialist offers from third-party companies.

“Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we

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