A WHISTLEBLOWER from West Devon says he has been 'amazed' at the level of support he has received, after he spoke out about a letter sent to him by manufacturing giant Premier Foods.

Bob Horsley, who has a specialist welding company, hit national headlines last Friday, after he complained that the letter, requesting a payment to support the company's growth, amounted to blackmail.

Mr Horsley's company has supplied services to Ambrosia Ltd, which is owned by Premier Foods, for many years.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme on Monday, Mr Horsley said: 'I am amazed at the amount of emails and texts I have had from different people saying "well done for standing up to them".

'Too many people were frightened to, because they rely on it [Premier Foods] for their own income.'

Over the weekend, Premier Foods said they would be prepared to 'simplify' their practice of asking their suppliers for payments to continue doing business with the firm, and claimed the company had been misunderstood and misinterpreted. It would still be seeking 'discounts' from suppliers but would no longer request upfront payments.

But Mr Horsley said changing the word to discount amounted to the same practice.

'They still want to take money from you,' said Mr Horsley, who said in common with many small businesses, they supplied quotes which were already 'cut close to the bone' in order to win contracts.

He said there was also a strong fear that suppliers who refused to apply discounts when tendering for contracts would be 'de-listed' by the company.

Business secretary Vince Cable last week asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate so-called 'pay and stay' arrangements being used by Premier.

And the Federation of Small Businesses has warned that small businesses were being crippled by such practices.

Gavin Darby, Premier Foods chief executive, said: 'We are fully prepared to simplify the details of our future programme to a more conventional type of discount negotiation, potentially based on price, value, or volume-based rebates, or lump sums.

'Our invest for growth programme has worked well over the last 18 months allowing us to consolidate our supplier base and invest in innovation, marketing and promotions to support our brands

'Many of our suppliers have chosen to invest with us and have grown their business as a result, despite the challenging market environment.'