Greggs rolls back self-service cabinets in shoplifting hotspots
Keir Starmer will attempt to call time on a “disgraceful” shoplifting epidemic afflicting the UK’s retailers, as Greggs became the latest to take action to deter thieves.The bakery chain has axed self-service display cabinets in stores that have been most severely hit by shoplifters.They are the latest measures aimed at combating a problem plaguing the high street.Last year official figures revealed annual shoplifting offences in England and Wales had passed half a million offences for the first time, and since then many retailers have reported high levels of crime in their shops.Starmer, whose government is attempting to introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, will say on Monday: “Working people – grafters – go to work, do the right thing, keep our high streets thriving and yet too often they are abused or assaulted by people who think they can get away with it and just cheat the system.
It’s disgraceful.”He will add that his government has put an extra 3,000 neighbourhood police officers on the streets and scrapped the effective immunity for thieves stealing goods worth less than £200.“That was a shoplifters’ charter, and we’ve ended it,” he is expected to say.Despite the promised crackdown, retailers appear to be pressing on with their own initiatives.Self-service display cabinets are being replaced at a selection of Greggs outlets, with staff now handing over products to customers from behind a theft-proof counter.
Branches in Croydon and Peckham, south London; Whitechapel and Upton Park, in east London; and in Birmingham and Wilford, Nottinghamshire, are all testing the new format.The company also said it is introducing software systems that supply information directly to police stations.The trial follows Greggs seemingly becoming a target of habitual shoplifters, while its rivals Pret a Manger and Costa have reportedly employed the services of bouncers to guard their stock from shoplifters.Last week Archie Norman, the chair of Marks & Spencer, told the Daily Telegraph that self-checkouts have been fuelling a rise in shoplifting among “good, honest people”.In February, the British Retail Consortium said criminal gangs were “systematically” targeting shops, with the 5.
5m incidents of shoplifting detected during the past year costing the industry an estimated £400m.The trade organisation also warned of “endemic” violence towards shop workers, who collectively faced an average 36 incidents of violence involving a weapon every day last year.Greggs said in a statement: “This is one of a number of initiatives we are trialling across a very small number of shops which are exposed to higher levels of antisocial behaviour.”
Children’s shoe retailers say closure of specialist shops is harming foot health
Parents should care for their children’s feet in the same way as their eyes and teeth, according to footwear specialists who say they are seeing more young people with painful conditions such as bunions.Bunions are bony lumps on the side of the foot. People can be genetically pre-disposed but ill-fitting shoes are seen as an aggravating factor.Nadia Arden-Scott, a co-founder of Footwear Hub, said: “Parents have been led to believe that fitting shoes is simple and can be done at home, when the reality is that do-it-yourself shoe fitting is potentially causing long-term damage to their child’s feet.”Data from the property analysts Green Street shows that more than 1,000 shoe shops have closed in Great Britain since 2020
UK urged to deploy EU-style ‘trade bazooka’ against Trump’s tariffs
UK business leaders have called on the government to build an EU-style “trade bazooka” to protect Britain’s economic interests in response to the latest tariff threats from Donald Trump.As transatlantic tensions rise, the British Chambers of Commerce said the UK’s “inadequate economic security” was putting growth and jobs at risk.The lobby group, which represents thousands of firms, urged Keir Starmer to take the lead in protecting Britain from external crises, saying there had been “years of neglect by successive governments”.Geopolitical tensions, the impact of Brexit, the Covid pandemic, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East mean UK companies are navigating an increasingly fraught global backdrop for international trade.The US president last week threatened to impose “a big tariff” on the UK unless it drops a digital services tax that impacts US technology companies
Musk and Altman’s bitter feud over OpenAI to be laid bare in court
The bitter rivalry between two of the tech world’s most powerful men arrives in court this week, as Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI heads to trial in Oakland, California. The case is set to feature some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, and its outcome could affect the course of the AI boom.Musk’s suit, filed in 2024, focuses on the formative years of OpenAI when he, Altman and others co-founded the artificial intelligence company as a nonprofit with a grand purpose.“OpenAI is a non-profit artificial intelligence research company. Our goal is to advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return,” reads the company’s mission statement, published in late 2015
UK departments at odds over energy demands of AI datacentres
One vision of the UK’s future involves a decarbonised economy powered by clean, renewable energy. Another involves making the UK an AI superpower.The government departments responsible for these two visions do not appear to have agreed on their numbers.The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) thinks AI datacentres will consume 6GW of electricity by 2030. The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) appears to think they will use less than a tenth of that
London Marathon hails ‘greatest day’ as Sawe breaks two hours and records tumble
The London Marathon’s organisers have hailed the “greatest day” in the event’s 45-year history after huge crowds watched Sabastian Sawe become the first man to shatter the two-hour barrier in an official race, and a world record tally of more than 60,000 runners started the event.By 6.30pm on Sunday evening, organisers were also hopeful of breaking the record number of 59,226 finishers, set by the New York Marathon last year, although they said it could go right down to the deadline of 11:59pm.Hugh Brasher, the race director, said that an estimated 800,000 supporters had watched an epic men’s race, in which Sawe and the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha had both run under two hours.Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa set a women’s-only world record, for races involving only female pace setters, although it was five minutes behind the outright women’s world record
Sibley’s century gives Surrey edge over Essex: county cricket, day three – as it happened
Sabastian Sawe may have crossed the marathon finishing line in under two hours, but things were more sedate a couple of miles away at the Oval where Dom Sibley escorted Surrey towards parity and beyond. He spent nearly 20 minutes on 99 before reaching his first hundred of the year, though shortly afterwards was the unlucky recipient of a Sam Cook cracker. Dan Lawrence leapt to an entertaining 125. Surrey finished with a lead of 63 and Essex saw off the final nine overs of the day. Surrey had promised free entry to any marathon runners but there was no sign of medals
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