Staff at Marks & Spencer staff are “worried about coming into work”, a senior boss at the high street giant said as the company urged the Government to do more to tackle retail crime.
The retailer claimed its customer-facing staff were being subjected to violence and abuse every day, and in the past week one had been taken to hospital after having ammonia thrown in their face.
M&S bosses have spoken out after unrest earlier this week involving one of its stores in Clapham, south London, which saw hundreds of youths swarm high street shops as part of an online trend.
In a message on its website, M&S retail director Thinus Keeve criticised the Government and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, writing: “Without a government seriously cracking down on crime and a Mayor that prioritises effective policing we are powerless.”
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.
Adam Hawksbee, head of external affairs at M&S, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “Retail crime has always been a challenge, but it does feel in the past weeks and months that the problem is getting worse.”
Asked about the impact of shoplifting on staff, Mr Hawksbee added: “Our colleagues are really resilient and they will always manage these incidents in the best way they can, but it clearly has an impact.
“Sometimes when they’ve seen reports in the media that, you know, retail crime numbers are going down, and they say ‘it really doesn’t feel like that to us.’
“And for them it means, you know, they’re worried about coming into work, they might be nervous about the journey home, and that’s not the position that we want our colleagues to be in.”
In a statement on the company’s website, Mr Keeve said retail crime was “becoming more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”.
He added: “In the past week alone we have had gangs forcing open locked cabinets and stripping shelves, two men brazenly emptying the shelves of steak and walking out, a large group of young people ransacking a store before assaulting a security guard, a colleague headbutted trying to defuse a situation and another hospitalised after having ammonia thrown in their face.
“It is worse in London, but it is happening across the country, and it is becoming routine, because it seems there are no consequences.
“Our colleagues come to work to serve customers, build relationships and take pride in what they do. Instead, too many are dealing with theft, intimidation and verbal and physical abuse as part of their daily reality. That erodes confidence. It impacts wellbeing and it drives people out of the industry.”
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.
Responding to the ONS data in January, the British Retail Consortium had said the rise in organised retail crime was “particularly concerning”, adding theft is “one of the main triggers for violence and abuse against retail workers”.
The Crime and Policing Bill, once passed, will make assault of a retail worker an offence.
It is also set to bring low-value shoplifting of goods up to a value of £200 into general theft, with a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
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.
