Soft-touch Britain plunged to a new low after the Labour policing minister told shopkeepers not to put expensive items near the door to deter thieves.

Industry chiefs on Wednesday warned of gangs “marauding” through shops, sweeping items off shelves and attacking staff with “needles, knives, hammers, you name it”.

Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker added that criminals were acting with “impunity”.

But policing minister Dame Diana Johnson sparked fury after claiming “stores need to play their part in making sure that items that are high value are not at the front” of the shop.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick told the Daily Express: “Instead of making the public’s life inconvenient, why doesn’t Starmer start making it miserable for shoplifters?

“Labour’s thinks the public have to just put up with lawless Britain and adapt to it. Starmer won’t call shoplifters ‘scumbags’ - which they obviously are - and instead wants to scrap prison sentences for shoplifters.

“It’s a disgrace. These individuals are ruining high streets across the country and they’re getting away with it with impunity.

“After I shamed the authorities over fare dodging, fines increased by 55 per cent. The lesson is that they can act when they want to. It’s high time they went after the shoplifters and made sure they were kept behind bars.”

Under Labour's sentencing reforms, which will scrap jail terms of less than 12 months apart from in 'exceptional circumstances', 11,000 shoplifters will avoid prison.

This is despite shoplifting hitting a record high last year, with the number of offences rocketing past 500,000 for the first time. Police recorded 530,643 offices in 2024/25, up 20 per cent from 442,022 the year before.

It is the highest number since police began recording shoplifting offences in 2002.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “It’s staggering that Labour’s answer to surging shoplifting is to tell shopkeepers not to stock anything worth stealing. Shoplifting is up 20 per cent under Labour, with more than half a million offences in the last year alone.

“But instead of putting more bobbies on the beat and cracking down on offenders, they’ve axed 1,300 officers and left our high streets wide open to criminal gangs.

“Britain is less safe because Keir Starmer has gutted police budgets, dismantled our borders, and let offenders walk free. Only the Conservatives will restore control, stop the crossings, and give officers the numbers and powers to protect the public.”

Reform’s Lee Anderson added: “It is not the responsibility of shopkeepers to prevent crime, it is the duty of our police force and government to keep people safe, something they have repeatedly failed to do.

“A Reform government will be the toughest on crime: investing in our police, delivering 30,000 more officers, and scrapping DEI to end two-tier justice. When this country adopts zero tolerance for crime of any severity, and prosecutes everyone who breaks the law, we will restore safety and peace to our streets.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dame Diana said: “I think stores need to play their part in making sure that items that are high value are not at the front of the store because that is an issue in some stores, that they put bottles of alcohol at the front of the store, which obviously people will nick.

“If they are going to steal to resell, they will nick items like that. So, I think it is not just one thing here, it has to be an approach with the retailers, with the government and with the police to work together.”

But she warned members of the public against confronting shoplifters, after Tory Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Matthew Barber claimed people had a duty to stand up to shoplifters rather than relying solely on police officers.

She said: “I would not advise people to tackle an individual who was stealing. I came across someone stealing in a store in Hull. I went straight to the assistant to tell them what was happening. I felt that was the best thing to do.

“Obviously, it is a judgment for individuals to take, but I am worried about people feeling they need to have a go. I don’t think that is appropriate."

Clarifying his point on Wednesday, Mr Barber said: “What’s wrong with shouting: “stop thief”? Do we really want to live in a society where people turn a blind eye to crime?

“Because that’s about more than just policing. What if it wasn’t shoplifting? What if you saw someone being assaulted? Walk by on the other side? Don’t even call for help? The police must act.

“We can all play a part in building a safer community - at the very least reporting crime we see, rather than accepting it.”

Iceland executive chairman Mr Walker warned the shoplifting crisis is getting worse because criminals are acting with “impunity”.

He said: “We now have over 1,000 serious incidents a year, serious incidents being marauding gangs, violent assaults, needles, knives, hammers, you name it.

“I go through our weekly serious incidents report every Monday morning, and it is clear that firstly, there is now no area of the country unaffected by this issue, it happens everywhere from small market towns through to big inner cities.

“But secondly, and importantly, there is an impunity, an increasing level of violence that is caused by a lack of deterrent.”

Responding to his remarks, Dame Diana said: “I think he does actually have a point, and that's why we're investing into neighbourhood policing, because we know a police deterrent in our town centres and in our high streets is really important in starting to tackle shop theft and anti-social behaviour.”