Tesco has pleaded guilty to six food hygiene offences in court, after one of its London stores was infested with “super mice”, but the leader of Christian Voice has attributed it to the management’s support of LGBT rights.

Health inspectors found a “supermouse” in the Tesco Metro branch in London’s Covent Garden. The mouse had swollen to much larger than normal size because it had been feeding on chicken and cakes.

Tesco pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates’ court yesterday, as the court heard that staff had failed to fix doors, pipes and loose ceiling tiles, which had allowed mice to enter fridges and food crates.

Despite making an “unreserved apology”, the leader of Christian Voice attributed the situation to Tesco’s support of Pride in London in 2012.

Christian Voice’s national director Stephen Green told PinkNews: “It is symptomatic of the bad management of Tesco. Any company which announces its support for gay pride six weeks before Christmas obviously can’t operate basic pest control.”

District Judge John Zani passed the case to Crown Court, as he decided he did not have the power to rule.

Paul Sharkey, prosecuting on behalf of Westminster City Council, told the court: “Alarmingly it was noted that the top bags of chicken portions on the cage were well past their ‘use by’ date. This was the source of the smell of decomposition smelt by Mr Byrne on entering the cold room.

“Whilst removing crates of chicken, three live mice jumped onto the warehouse floor. A live mice was seen running along the floor of the warehouse.”

He went on to say that the inspectors had found a “huge amount of mice droppings”, and partially eaten bags of chicken.

Other droppings were found on the shop floor, and on shop floor shelves.

Last year Mr Green wrote in a blog post: “Nothing has gone right for Tesco since they decided to support ‘gay pride’. Their only hope is to repent of that decision and put their trust in God.”