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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed that the Labour government is taking firm action against growing retail crime by scrapping the "shoplifters' charter." During a Commons session on Wednesday (5), Claire Hughes, Labour MP for Bangor Aberconwy, raised concerns about businesses in the seaside town of Llandudno struggling with the rise in shoplifting. She highlighted that in many cases thieves are stealing "in full view of staff because they just don't fear the consequences." While welcoming the recent funding boost for neighbourhood policing, she asked the prime minister - "What more the government is doing to tackle retail crime and deter repeat offenders?" In response, Starmer criticised the previous Conservative government for downplaying retail crime, potentially leading to increased incidents of repeat offenses. Starmer said: "For far too long, crimes like shoplifting have been written off as low level." "That's wrong, it's devastating. The opposite party (Conservatives) left us with rising crime and effectively told police to ignore shoplifting under £200 worth of goods. "We've got rid of that shoplifters' charter and we're working hard to make sure we get a grip where they lost control."

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to tackle the rising 'epidemic' of shoplifting in the UK by giving police stronger powers through her proposed Crime and Policing Bill. The Labour MP's announcement follows a media report revealing that shoplifters are increasingly going unpunished, despite the number of recorded offences soaring to record levels. An analysis of official figures by The Times showed that police recorded 443,995 shoplifting offences in the year leading up to March 2024, a significant increase from 326,440 in the same period a decade ago. However, the number of shoplifters being punished has plummeted, with only 431 fixed penalty notices issued in the past year, a 98 per cent decrease from 2014. Fixed penalty notice is the lowest form of punishment used for theft of goods valued at under £100. Moreover, most police forces did not issue a single penalty for shoplifting last year.