Three senior businessmen who cooked up an elaborate scheme to siphon almost £9 million from Sainsbury’s in a corrupt potato deal, were jailed today.

John Maylam, right, entered into a corrupt deal with David Baxter, left, operations director at Greenvale, which supplies half of Sainsbury's potatoes Photo: TONY PALMER 

John Maylam, 44, a senior buyer for the supermarket chain, accepted almost £5 million in bribes from a supplier, which he “frivolously” spent on lavish holidays to Monaco and the South of France, a top of the range Aston Martin and in luxury hotels such as Claridge's.

He colluded with John Baxter, a director at Greenvale who massively overcharged Sainsbury's for its crop.

Maylam admitted corruption and acquiring criminal property and was jailed for four years. Baxter, 50, admitted the same charges and was jailed for 30 months.

With the proceeds, the two men lived “like millionaires”, running up a £350,000 bill at Claridge's, where they received brown envelopes stuffed with up to £2,000 in cash and hiring a Sunseeker motor yacht during a trip to Jersey.

For Maylam’s 40th birthday, he was treated to a five–star £350,000 holiday to Monaco for the grand prix, as well as stays in luxury hotels in Cannes and St Tropez.