Security guards in shops should carry pepper spray and truncheons to tackle rising retail crime, a supermarket boss has said.
Lord Walker of Broxton, executive chairman of Iceland, said that “just one incident of violence against my staff is too many” as he pointed to the example of armed Spanish security guards, saying they “don’t mess about”.
It comes after Marks and Spencer’s retail director, Thinus Keeve, claimed its customer-facing staff were being subjected to violence and abuse every day, and called for the Government and the Mayor of London to crack down on crime.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Walker, who is also the government’s cost-of-living tsar, said he agreed with his fellow high street giant boss and said: “We call it shoplifting, which sounds like a cheeky bit of pilfering, but actually we should just call it out for what it is, which is violent crime.
“We all saw the footage of marauding gangs and security guards being beaten up. The violent nature of it in Clapham is horrific.
“I’ve always argued for more powers for security guards. You go to Spain and all the security guards have pepper spray and a truncheon, they don’t mess about.”
The M&S executive spoke out after unrest earlier this week involving one of the retail giant’s stores in Clapham, south London, which saw hundreds of youths swarm high street shops as part of an online trend.
In a message on M&S’s website, Mr Keeve criticised the Government and Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, writing: “Without a Government seriously cracking down on crime and a Mayor that prioritises effective policing we are powerless.”
He said he has written to Sir Sadiq and M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood calling for more to be done.
A survey of 1,000 customer-facing workers in the UK by the Institute of Customer Service found around 43% of frontline staff had experienced hostility or abuse from customers in the past six months, up from 36% the previous year.
Institute chief executive Jo Causon said: “The shocking scenes in and around M&S this week are yet another reminder that abuse, hostility and criminal behaviour towards frontline workers is far too common — and all too often goes unpunished.
“This is not isolated to one brand or one sector: it is part of a much wider trend across our high streets and communities.
“For too many people working in customer-facing roles — whether in retail, hospitality, transport, or services — intimidation, threats and violence have become a grim part of the working day.”
The data, published in October last year, found 22% of workers within this group had faced threats of physical violence.
The survey also found 40% of service workers viewed violence and abuse as “too frequent” to report, and 35% of staff experiencing aggression were considering leaving their jobs.
The Crime and Policing Bill, once passed, will make the assault of a retail worker an offence.
The Bill has cleared both the Commons and Lords, but is going through a “tidying up process” between the two Houses of Parliament, which must agree on a final draft for the statute books.
Shoplifting offences increased in England and Wales in the year to September, but remained slightly below record levels seen in the 12 months to March 2025, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures available show.
There were 519,381 shoplifting offences in the year to September 2025, up 5% from 492,660 the previous year.
A total of 530,439 offences were recorded in the year to March 2025.
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