Shop security personnel should be equipped with pepper spray and batons to combat escalating retail crime, according to a supermarket chief executive. Lord Walker of Broxton, executive chairman of Iceland, stated that “just one incident of violence against my staff is too many” while highlighting armed Spanish security guards as an example, noting they “don’t mess about”.
His comments follow remarks from Marks and Spencer’s retail director, Thinus Keeve, who revealed that customer-facing employees experience violence and abuse on a daily basis, urging the Government and the Mayor of London to take stronger action against crime.
Speaking to The Times, Lord Walker, who also serves as the Government’s cost-of-living tsar, expressed agreement with his fellow high street leader, saying: “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 director made his statement following disorder earlier this week at one of the retailer’s Clapham branches in south London, where hundreds of young people descended upon high street shops as part of a social media-driven phenomenon. In a statement published on M&S’s website, Mr Keeve took aim at the Government and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, stating: “Without a Government seriously cracking down on crime and a Mayor that prioritises effective policing we are powerless.”
He revealed he has contacted Sir Sadiq, while M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has approached Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood demanding stronger action.
Research conducted by the Institute of Customer Service, surveying 1,000 customer-facing employees across the UK, revealed approximately 43% of frontline personnel had encountered hostility or abuse from customers within the previous six months, representing an increase from 36% the year before.
Institute chief executive Jo Causon commented: “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 findings, released in October last year, showed 22% of employees within this category had encountered threats of physical assault.
The research additionally discovered 40% of service sector workers considered violence and abuse “too frequent” to report, while 35% of staff experiencing aggression were contemplating resignation. Once enacted, the Crime and Policing Bill will establish assaulting a retail worker as a criminal offence.
Having successfully passed through both the Commons and Lords, the Bill is currently undergoing a “tidying up process” between the two chambers of Parliament, which must reach consensus on the final version for legal implementation.
Jim Bligh, director of corporate affairs at the British Retail Consortium, said: “There is no excuse for the deplorable violence, abuse and shop theft we’ve seen in London this week.
“High streets are the beating heart of our communities, and disruption like this endangers retail workers and customers.
“We support the work of the emergency services in handling this incident, and urge the mayor and police to double down on tackling this scourge.”
Theft from shops rose across England and Wales during the year ending September, though figures stayed marginally beneath the peak recorded in the 12 months leading to March 2025, according to the most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) data available.
A total of 519,381 shoplifting incidents were logged in the year to September 2025, representing a 5% increase from the 492,660 cases documented the previous year.
The year ending March 2025 saw 530,439 offences recorded.