Marks & Spencer has urged the government and London's mayor to take stronger action against retail crime, describing it as increasingly 'brazen, organised and aggressive'. In letters to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Mayor Sadiq Khan, the retailer highlighted a series of incidents from the past week, including gangs forcing open locked cabinets, a group ransacking a store and assaulting a security guard, and a colleague being hospitalised after having ammonia thrown in their face.
Thinus Keeve, M&S retail director, wrote that such crimes are 'worse in London, but it is happening across the country, and it is becoming routine, because it seems there are no consequences'. He noted that there were about 5.5 million shoplifting incidents last year across the UK, excluding many that go unreported, and that more than 1,600 retail workers face violence or abuse daily.
Keeve called for a 'stronger, faster and more consistent police response' targeting repeat offenders and crime hotspots, as well as greater transparency on crime data. He emphasised that the issue is 'systemic' and demands a coordinated response across government, policing and industry.
The appeal follows recent antisocial behaviour in Clapham, south London, where police responded to reports of 'several hundred young people' gathering, with fires lit and fireworks set off. Six teenage girls were arrested, and five people were assaulted, including four police officers. Mayor Khan condemned the scenes as 'utterly unacceptable' and said police are working with social media companies to clamp down on viral content promoting violence and theft.
Official figures show shoplifting offences in England and Wales rose 5% in the year to September 2025, reaching 519,381, though still slightly below the record level of 530,643 in the year to March 2025.
