Marks & Spencer has demanded urgent government and mayoral action to curb an epidemic of retail crime, which it describes as increasingly “brazen, organised and aggressive,” following a spate of violent incidents and mass thefts at its stores. The retailer’s chief executive, Stuart Machin, has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, while its retail director, Thinus Keeve, has appealed directly to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, arguing that without greater police resources and political prioritisation, businesses are left “powerless”.
A Week of “Routine” Violence
The call comes after what the company terms a shocking routine of crime. In detailed correspondence, Thinus Keeve outlined that in just one week, M&S stores experienced gangs forcing open locked cabinets, individuals walking out with armfuls of high-value steak, and a large group ransacking a store before assaulting a security guard. In one of the most serious cases, a colleague was head-butted while trying to defuse a situation and another was 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,” Keeve stated.
The Systemic Scale of the Crisis
This is not isolated, according to the retailer, but a systemic national crisis. Keeve cited an estimated 5.5 million shoplifting incidents across the UK last year, excluding a vast number that go unreported, and stressed that every day more than 1,600 retail workers face violence or abuse. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show shoplifting offences in England and Wales rose by 5% to 519,381 in the year to September 2025. Separate ONS data indicates the 12 months to March 2025 saw 530,643 offences—a 20% annual increase and the highest level since current police recording began in 2003. In London alone, shoplifting crimes recorded by the Metropolitan Police surged by 53% to almost 94,000 in the year to March 2025.
The human and financial toll is profound. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimates retail theft costs businesses approximately £2.2 billion annually, with the total cost of retail crime, including prevention, reaching £3.3 billion in 2022/23. For staff, the impact is corrosive: a Usdaw survey found 77% of retail workers suffered verbal abuse in a year, 53% faced threats, and 10% were physically assaulted. The Retail Trust reports 47% of workers now fear for their safety at work, with 39% having considered leaving their jobs because of it. Adam Hawksbee, M&S’s Head of External Affairs, told the BBC that staff “worried about coming into work, they might be nervous about the journey home”.
Organised Crime and Social Media “Link-Ups”
Retailers highlight a growing threat from organised crime gangs systematically targeting stores for high-value, easily resold goods. This dovetails with chaotic scenes driven by social media, as seen recently in Clapham, south London. Police responded to reports of antisocial behaviour involving “several hundred young people” there, part of “link-ups” organised via apps like TikTok and Snapchat. Around 100 officers were deployed to Clapham High Street, where young people attempted to access shops and a restaurant; five people were assaulted, including four police officers. The Metropolitan Police stated six teenage girls were arrested following two separate incidents “fuelled by online trends” and expected more arrests.
M&S confirmed its Clapham store was targeted. London hotspots are widespread, with Westminster, Camden, and Kensington & Chelsea identified as high-crime areas. Westminster has the highest number of shoplifting offences in the capital.
Calls for a Coordinated Response
In his letter, Thinus Keeve, who joined M&S in June 2025 with extensive global retail experience, argued for a “stronger, faster and more consistent police response,” using existing tools to target repeat offenders and crime hotspots. He also called for greater transparency on crime data so its true scale can guide resources. Both M&S and the broader industry are advocating for measures like electronic monitoring and exclusion zones for prolific shoplifters.
Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the Clapham scenes as “utterly unacceptable,” promising culprits would “face the full force of the law” and stating police were working with social media companies to clamp down on “viral online content which promotes violence and theft”.
Government Legislation and Funding Pledges
The government points to several initiatives in progress. The Crime and Policing Bill, currently before Parliament, aims to create a new standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker, carrying a maximum penalty of six months in prison and/or an unlimited fine. It also seeks to remove the £200 threshold that categorised theft as a “low-level” summary offence, intending to ensure all shoplifting is treated seriously.
These measures build on the Retail Crime Action Plan launched in October 2023, which committed police to prioritise attendance at incidents involving violence or where an offender is detained; early data from 31 forces showed police attended 60% of incidents where violence was used. In the Autumn Budget of October 2024, the government announced additional funding, including £5 million over three years for the national policing intelligence unit (Opal) and £2 million for the National Business Crime Centre.
Despite these steps, M&S’s leadership, including CEO Stuart Machin—a retail veteran with over 30 years’ experience—believes the situation is deteriorating and demands a more decisive, coordinated response across government, policing, and industry to halt the cycle of violence and theft.
