Retail workers call for more security after Waitrose sacking for tackling shoplifter
Retail workers have called for more security guards in stores after a Waitrose worker was sacked for confronting a shoplifter.Waitrose has been criticised over its treatment of Walker Smith after the Guardian reported he was fired two days after he stopped a shoplifter taking items from an Easter egg display, including Lindt chocolate bunnies.Joanne Thomas, the general secretary of Usdaw, the shop workers’ union, said: “Usdaw supports a physical security presence in stores and we have ongoing conversations with employers about protection for retail workers on the frontline of the rise in retail crime.“The results of our 2025 annual survey show that 59% of members would welcome more security in stores because security guards provide reassurance, act as a deterrent and have specialist experience to deal with incidents.“While not as popular as a physical security presence, members also value other security measures such as improved CCTV, facial recognition technology, body-worn cameras and headsets that help to identify perpetrators, record incidents and link workers to a central control for support.
”Smith was offered a job at Iceland after Waitrose doubled down on sacking him.Richard Walker, Iceland’s chief executive, said shop workers needed more tools including AI and potentially batons to deter thieves.He told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday: “We should call [shoplifting] out for what it is, which in many cases is often violent crime.It’s as simple and base as that.And therefore, that’s why I think we should be doing more, much more, to keep our customers and our colleagues safe.
”Walker said it was proving difficult to use facial recognition to stop thieves,“We do have AI technology that can spot shoplifters, that we are using in our store but that some people, including the Information Commissioner’s Office, have a big problem with because of the human rights of the shoplifters, which clearly is absurd,”He added: “When you go on holiday in Spain, you’ll have seen it yourself,The in-store security teams there do have pepper spray and batons,Now, my point wasn’t that we need to arm store colleagues, of course, but it was that our in-store security staff … should be given, within reason, as much powers as they can to bring back the stigma to this horrible crime.
”In February a security guard in Milton Keynes was fatally stabbed while at work,Security workers have been calling for shops to allow them to wear stab-proof vests while on shift,Daniel Garnham, the general secretary of the Security Industry Federation (SIF), said: “We have been working for years to get correct PPE like stab-proof vests or body-worn cameras but the security companies hide behind their client, a retailer, and say they don’t want them because it doesn’t look nice for customers when there is security wearing a body-worn camera or stab-proof vests,”He said security guards were “ridiculed on TikTok” because supermarket policies did not allow them to physically stop thieves,Instead, he said, “the policies put in place by the companies say they are supposed to have a hands-off approach”.
Garnham said assaults on workers were getting worse and “becoming an everyday occurrence”.The SIF has started a petition to make assaulting a security worker a standalone offence, as it is for emergency services workers, to deter the spate of assaults.Waitrose said in a statement: “There is a serious danger to life in tackling shoplifters.We refuse to put anyone’s life at risk and that’s why we have policies in place that are very clearly understood and must be strictly followed.“As a responsible employer, we never want to be in a position where we are notifying families of a tragedy because someone tried to stop a theft.
Nothing we sell is worth risking lives for.”It added: “The reporting on this does not cover the full facts of the situation.While we would never be able to discuss an individual case, we can assure you the correct process is being followed, which includes a standard appeals procedure.”Lucy Whing, the crime policy lead at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Colleagues safety is of the upmost importance to retailers.They have invested £5bn over the past five years on crime prevention measures such as increased security personnel, body-worn cameras, ant-theft devices and more.
”Shopworkers have for some years been campaigning on safety in store, and last year Co-op workers complained they were being asked to staff shops on their own despite a surge in thefts.They said they felt their safety and security was at risk.Co-op said at the time that more than 90% of the overall hours worked by its staff were not one-on-one and its stores were set up so workers would not be left alone during deliveries and at busier times of day, such as opening and closing times.
Oil price rises as markets question durability of Middle East ceasefire
Oil and gas prices rose on Thursday and Asian stock markets retreated as the two-week ceasefire in Iran looked increasingly shaky, with Israel continuing attacks on Lebanon and the US and Iran threatening a return to military action.A day after the US and Iran announced an 11th-hour ceasefire, including an agreement to reopen the strait of Hormuz, many questions remain and there were signs that the truce was already being broken, causing jitters in the markets.Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose more than 2% on Thursday but remained below $100 a barrel, at $96.77, while New York light crude climbed almost 3% to $97.23 a barrel
Oil rises and global stocks wobble amid worries over ‘fragile’ ceasefire deal in Middle East – business live
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Uncertainty over the US-Iran ceasefire deal has triggered a rise in oil prices this morning.Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose by 2.1% to $96.77 a barrel, while New York light crude rose by almost 3% to $97
British computer scientist denies he is bitcoin developer Satoshi Nakamoto
A British computer scientist has insisted he is not the elusive developer of bitcoin, after a report claimed to unmask him as its creator.A story in the New York Times details a years-long effort to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious author of the bitcoin white paper which laid the theoretical foundations for modern digital currencies.It names Adam Back, a London-born computer scientist and entrepreneur. In a thread on X, Back promptly denied being the mysterious – and presumably ultra-wealthy – technologist.“I also don’t know who satoshi is, and i think it is good for bitcoin that this is the case, as it helps bitcoin be viewed [as] a new asset class, the mathematically scarce digital commodity,” he wrote
Britons warned about Russian hackers targeting internet routers for espionage
Russian hackers are exploiting commonly sold internet routers to harvest information for espionage purposes, the UK’s cybersecurity agency has said.The hack could allow attackers to obtain users’ credentials, redirect them to fake sites, and potentially access other devices on their home network such as phones and PCs, said Alan Woodward, a professor at the University of Surrey.The National Cyber Security Centre said on Tuesday the operations were “believed to be opportunistic in nature, with the actor targeting a wide pool of victims and then likely filtering down for users of potential intelligence value at each stage of the exploitation chain”.It follows a common pattern of cyber-actors targeting edge devices – hardware such as internet routers or internet-connected security cameras – that act as a bridge between users and the cloud.Woodward said: “It’s not the first time that warnings have come out about routers
Women’s Six Nations 2026: team-by-team guide to the tournament
World champions England will be favourites to repeat last year’s grand slam but France and Ireland will eye an upsetCoach John Mitchell Captain Meg Jones Last year’s finish Grand slam championsEngland are on a high after winning the World Cup and will take to the pitch against Ireland on Saturday for the first time since they were crowned world champions in September. There have been some changes to the squad, including the retirements of Abby Dow and Emily Scarratt as well as Tatyana Heard’s foot injury and the pregnancies of Zoe Stratford (formerly Aldcroft, the captain), Abbie Ward and Lark Atkin-Davies. Scarratt is now England’s attack and backs coach and seven of the 38-player squad are uncapped. Though they are depleted, England are firm favourites and while many may think the Red Roses do not have anything else to conquer, their new captain, Meg Jones, has outlined their target for this tournament. “We could be the first men or women’s team to win a Six Nations after a World Cup win so that is definitely a challenge we are very aware of,” she said
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Jeffrey Epstein’s web of influence stretched from European palaces to Ivy League universities and Wall Street banks, but there was apparently at least one little corner of the establishment that seems to have been beyond his reach: Augusta National. In July 2019, Epstein sent an iMessage to Steve Bannon asking for his help with a particularly difficult problem. “Need to work magic to get brad Karp admitted to augusta golf club,” Epstein wrote. “The head of Paul Weiss Brad Karp?” Bannon replied. “Yes
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