M&S staff ‘worried’ about coming into work as boss issues plea to mayor following Clapham disorder
The company's retail director said crime has become “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”
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.
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The retailer claimed its customer-facing staff were being subjected to violence and abuse every day, as crime becomes “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”.
In the past week, one staff member had even been taken to hospital after having ammonia thrown in their face, the retailer reported.
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 statement, 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.”
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“We need a stronger, faster and more consistent police response, using tools that already exist to target repeat offenders and crime hotspots.
“And we need far greater transparency on crime so the true scale and impact is understood and can be used to target resources.”
Mr Keeve said M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has written to the Home Secretary, while he has written to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan over the issue.
It comes after around 100 officers responded to antisocial behaviour in the Clapham area on Tuesday, according to the Metropolitan Police. Five people were assaulted, including four police officers.
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.”
On Thursday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a 48-hour dispersal order is in place covering Rochdale town centre until Saturday at 11.30am.
Groups of young people were reported to be harassing staff and causing criminal damage at a business and in the town centre on Wednesday.
Inspector Meena Yasin, from the GMP’s Rochdale district, said: “We have implemented this order to provide further powers for officers in the area to robustly deal with anti-social behaviour, and to protect people and businesses."
In his statement, Mr Keeve 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.”
Mr Keeve called on the Government to implement changes to tackle the growing crime.
He said: “It’s a clear ask: support our police. Help them show up in our communities when and where we need them.
“Give them the resources they need to tackle crime effectively and ensure they work with retailers to consistently use the tools we’ve developed to share data and help them actively target offenders.
“This is not complicated. The capability exists. The data exists. The investment has been made. Time is up, we need to deal with this now.”
Sir Sadiq has condemned the scenes of teenagers in Clapham as “utterly unacceptable” and said further arrests were likely within days as officers review CCTV and bodyworn video.
He warned “the culprits will face the full force of the law” and said police are working with social media companies to try to clamp down on “viral online content which promotes violence and theft”.
Sir Sadiq said: “Not only did they spread fear in the local community, but assaulting and intimidating hard-working retail staff and police officers are serious offences.
”The Met are taking “a zero-tolerance approach to any form of criminality”, increasing officer numbers in hotspot areas and potentially using dispersal orders.
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.