Nigel Farage has lashed out after Waitrose sacked an worker who caught a shoplifter, fuming that it’s a signal that “Britain is broken”. Walker Smith confronted a thief who had stuffed a buying bag with Easter chocolate and was attempting to depart the shop in Clapham Junction, London, with out paying.
The 54-year-old advised The Guardian that he grabbed the bag and a wrestle ensued, wherein the provider cut up and several other Lindt gold bunnies price £13 every fell to the ground. Mr Walker picked up a bit and threw it in the direction of a row of buying trolleys in frustration because the shoplifter fled the grocery store. He mentioned he didn’t purpose it on the thief, however he was reprimanded by his supervisor, and the incident was escalated internally – in the end resulting in his dismissal.
Reform UK chief Mr Farage vented his anger on the sacking, posting on social media web site X: “We are now a country that favours criminals over law enforcers. Britain is broken.”
Following his dismissal, Mr Smith mentioned he felt “demoralised” and apprehensive about his future, together with his potential to afford his new lodging.
He was advised by Waitrose to not confront shoplifters, however mentioned his rising frustration with rising thefts from the shop led him to react.
A Waitrose spokeswoman mentioned reviews of the incident didn’t “cover the full facts of the situation”.
She mentioned the grocery store “would never be able to discuss an individual case”, however added: “We can assure you the correct process is being followed, which includes a standard appeals procedure.”
The spokeswoman additionally mentioned there have been insurance policies to guard the security and safety of workers and clients.
“We’ve had incidents where our partners have been hospitalised when challenging shoplifters. Luckily, they have always recovered, but that might not always be the case.
“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.”
Shoplifting continues to blight UK retail, with 519,000 offences recorded in England and Wales between September 2024 and September 2025.
The Waitrose spokeswoman added: “We have campaigned for some time for more to be done to protect shop workers from offenders, including retail crime being made into a specific standalone offence.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2190669/nigel-farage-waitrose-shoplifting