Latest news with #GrahamWynn
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour blames middle-class shoplifters for pushing up prices
Middle-class shoplifters are responsible for pushing up prices on the high street, the policing and crime minister has claimed. Dame Diana Johnson has vowed to punish wealthier thieves as part of her crackdown on retail crime, insisting 'there will be consequences' for shoplifters, regardless of their background. She said: 'It's a crime. If you're middle class, or whichever class you want to determine that you are, it's a crime. That is just not acceptable because we all know that people end up paying higher prices if people are stealing.' Her comments come as Britain's retailers battle a shoplifting epidemic that is costing them billions of pounds each year. In a bid to address the issue, the Government plans to invest £200m into neighbourhood policing, and has said it will make assaulting a shop worker a standalone offence. It has also scrapped previous legislation that made stealing goods worth less than £200 a 'summary-only' low-level offence. It also plans to develop a 'Fusion Cell' programme for sharing intelligence on retail crime and its perpetrators. Incidents of retail crime hit their highest level on record in the year leading up to August 2024, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), growing by more than 50pc to hit more than 2,000 incidents a day. Graham Wynn, a director at the BRC, said: 'The cost of theft has also risen to over £2.2bn a year, pushing up prices for honest shoppers and damaging the customer experience.' Much of the crime wave has been blamed on organised crime gangs who steal high-value goods such as spirits and meat before selling them on for a profit. Middle-class crime However, retail industry bosses have increasingly raised the alarm over shoplifting among the middle classes. Archie Norman, the chairman of Marks & Spencer, first highlighted it as a problem two years ago: 'It's too easy to say it's a cost of living problem. Some of this shoplifting is by gangs. Then you get the middle class. 'With the reduction of service you get in a lot of shops, a lot of people think: 'This didn't scan properly, or it's very difficult to scan these things through, and I shop here all the time. It's not my fault, I'm owed it'.' Last month, John Nussbaum, director of retail at Kingdom Security, said some shoplifters believed they were 'cheating the system' and did not necessarily see themselves as criminals. When asked what her message to shoplifters would be, Dame Diana said: 'It's a crime. You are committing a crime. 'During the disorder last year, I remember in Hull, there were young women coming out of Lush because they'd been into Lush to loot, and they were coming out with boxes of toiletries from Lush, thinking that was perfectly fine. 'There were no consequences. We have to get back to the fact that if you steal, if you commit a crime, there will be consequences.' She also called on landlords not to allow the selling of stolen goods in their venues, amid reports that some pubs were being used by criminals to do so. She said: 'If you're a pub down the road, then selling that is not part of what you should be doing to protect and support your community.'
Scottish Sun
05-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Boots forced to take drastic action to stop everyday medicines such as Nytol being stolen by ‘selfish thieves'
Scroll to read the staggering sum theft costs UK businesses last year 'HOW SAD' Boots forced to take drastic action to stop everyday medicines such as Nytol being stolen by 'selfish thieves' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BOOTS has been forced to stash everyday medicines behind its tills after a shoplifting spree. Packs of £6.60 sleep aid Nytol and £9.95 boxes of hay fever tablets Piriton have been swapped out for dummies at one store. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up Signs tell customers to exchange them for the real thing after paying in Croydon, South London. Last night outraged shopper, mum of two Fran Griffin, 45, told us: 'This is a disgrace. People rely on getting hold of these medicines when in need. 'If shoplifters have stolen all the supplies the shelves will be soon be left empty. 'And that is surely what was happening. How sad Boots has to take such drastic action because of a bunch of selfish thieves.' It comes just days after Boots announced plans to tackle serial shoplifters. The pharmacy chain was previously forced to take baby milk off shelves — and pricey fungal nail treatments. The high street chemist stashed the £25.99 Nailner kits behind counters, leaving empty boxes on the the shop floor. While last year reports stated the chain had stuck anti-theft gadgets on fake eyelashes worth as little as £1 and taken baby milk off shelves in some crime hit stores. In January, the British Retail Consortium reported the total cost of customer theft had soared to £2.2 billion in 2023/24. There were over 20 million incidents of theft last year compared to 16 million the previous year. Moment Co-op worker grabs fleeing shoplifter by the THROAT to stop him making off with arms full of stolen items Graham Wynn, of the BRC, told us: 'Shoplifting is not a victimless crime; it feeds through into higher prices for honest shoppers at the till." The firm was contacted for comment.
