Shop staff in London's famous Strand thoroughfare are locking their doors during opening hours because of rampant shoplifting in Sir Sadiq Khan's "lawless" capital. Shoppers who want to get into some businesses in the street have to knock for workers to let them in.

Susan Hall, who leads the Conservative group at the London Assembly, said this was Mayor Sadiq Khan's "lawless London". She said: "What message does this give to tourists? It basically says the city is closed."

Ms Hall told The Sun: "The Mayor hasn’t stood up for shops. It’s damaging London."

The Mayor of London's office has been approached for comment.

Women's clothes shop, Jigsaw, has reportedly put a notice up at its Strand branch to let shoppers know they will need to wait to be let in.

According to the same publication, it reads: "We are operating a locked door policy. Please knock and a member of staff will be with you shortly".

The idea is said to have come from an O2 branch over the road from Jigsaw.

Between August 2024 and July this year there were 86,599 reported incidents of shoplifting in London, according to Met Police figures.

England and Wales hit a record high this year with 530,643 reported shoplifting offences in the year to March, Office for National Statistics figures show. This is the highest since current police recording practices started in 2003.

The figure led British Retailers Association boss Tom Ironside to say retail theft is "spiralling out of control".

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper unveiled the Crime and Policing Bill earlier this year, which includes measures which she said would tackle shoplifting.

She said the Government plans to boost the number of police patrols in more than 500 town centres and the number of PCSOs and neighbourhood officers will increase by 3,000 by spring 2026.