Sainsbury’s threatens to crack down on shoplifters caught swapping eggs Retail UK supermarket giants Sainsbury’s has threatened shoplifters with police action if they are caught swapping premium eggs into cheaper boxes. Sainsbury’s has placed signs in stores telling customers that egg swapping is “regarded as theft”, claiming that any footage of shoplifting would be shared with police. In a picture posted on social media by retail [...]
Iceland boss offers job to Waitrose worker who tackled shoplifter Retail The boss of Iceland has offered a job to a man who was sacked by Waitrose after he prevented a shoplifter from attempting to steal luxury Easter eggs. Richard Walker, boss of the budget supermarket chain, posted on LinkedIn telling Walker Smith, the shop assistant sacked by Waitrose: “You’re welcome to a job with us. [...]
Tories urge Waitrose to re-hire worker who tackled shoplifter – and give him a bonus Retail Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has urged the boss of Waitrose to re-hire Walker Smith, who tackled a shoplifter in south London attempting to steal luxury Easter eggs. Waitrose shop assistant Walker Smith was sacked by the supermarket after tackling a shoplifter, whom Smith recognised as a repeat offender. Philp wrote to Denyard, the managing [...]
Labour to curb jail terms for shoplifters as retail crime fears grow April 4, 2026 Labour’s plans to scrap most prison sentences of under a year will see thousands of prolific shoplifters avoid jail, in a move that risks intensifying pressure on retailers already warning of rising violence and disorder. The changes, introduced under the Sentencing Act, mean around 98 per cent of shoplifters currently in custody would instead qualify [...]
M&S boss: Sadiq Khan is soft on crime April 3, 2026 Marks and Spencer has hit out at the Mayor of London for being soft on crime, after crowds of young people have targeted London shops in the past week. Thinus Keeve, the supermarket’s retail director, has called on Sadiq Khan to crack down on violent disorder against retailers, after a Marks and Spencer (M&S) shop [...]
Shoplifting cost retailers £400m last year February 24, 2026 British retailers lost out on nearly £400m last year due to shoplifting, despite falling numbers of violent theft and abuse. Violence and abuse against shopkeepers occurred 1,600 times per day on average, down 20 per cent from 2,000 last year, according to a crime report published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The Crime and [...]
Shoplifting ‘epidemic’ and AI data centre demand help Mitie revenue surge November 20, 2025 Rising demand for shop security guards and AI data centres have helped drive a surge in sales for security and engineering services company Mitie. The FTSE 250 business, which has more than 80,000 staff, saw a 12 per cent rise in revenue from security services to £580m in the six months to end September, fueled [...]
Violence against retail workers ‘unacceptable and untenable’ September 29, 2025 More than a quarter of retail workers say that they have experienced physically aggressive or violent behaviour in their current jobs as the UK continues to battle a years-long fight against high-street crime. More than one in five retail workers in London have to deal with an angry customer ‘every day’, according to research by [...]
Inaccurate crime rate statistics have gaslighted the British public August 5, 2025 The UK government knows very little about the people it governs. From crime rates to the labour market, this has real consequences.
As retail crime soars, is better tech the answer? April 24, 2025 Retail crime has soared by a fifth year-on-year, with retailers now questioning how to deal with extremely high shrinkage amid already-thin margins. Shoplifting offences rose by 20 per cent to 516,971 offences in December, up from 429,873 offences last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. The effect is a whole lot of shrink. [...]