Marks & Spencer's retail director Thinus Keeve has called for a crackdown on retail crime, saying the problem is getting worse and that staff face abuse and violence in their workplace every day. He urged police to receive more resources to tackle the issue and called for a coordinated response across government, policing and industry.
M&S external affairs director Adam Hawksbee told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that stores have been targeted by organised criminal gangs, leaving staff worried about coming into work. He noted that while retail crime has always existed, conditions feel more brazen and systematic in recent weeks, requiring a stronger, faster and more consistent police response to repeat offenders and crime hotspots.
In Clapham, south London, a disturbance last weekend saw a group of several hundred young people enter an M&S, underscoring the scale of anti-social behaviour. Police were called to the scene as officers responded to reports of disorder and mob-like activity.
Keeve wrote to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan urging extra support for police, and it is understood the mayor will meet with M&S soon to discuss a way forward. Keeve described a week of incidents in which gangs forced open locked cabinets, two men brazenly emptied shelves of steak, a large group ransacked a store and assaulted a security guard, a colleague was headbutted, and another staff member was hospitalised after ammonia was thrown in their face.
The broader reaction has seen the mayor promise a zero-tolerance approach to any repeat of the Clapham disorder, with a strong policing plan to prevent further scenes and more arrests if necessary. The ongoing discussions reflect a wider concern about retail safety and urban disorder, emphasizing a need for swift, coordinated action among law enforcement, government and the retail sector.
