LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - British retailer John Lewis on Tuesday gave the following sales figures for the latest week compared with a year earlier: Week to Apr 7 10 weeks to Apr 7 Total sales -8.8 pct 3.3 pct Dept stores 3.6 pct 2.9 pct Food stores -16.4 pct 3.5 pct Rupert Thomas, commercial director of Waitrose, said comparisons were heavily distorted by the earlier fall of Easter this year, which means that we are comparing six days trading - with most shops remaining closed on Easter Sunday - with a full week's trading in 2017. (Reporting by Paul Sandle)