A Waitrose employee who said he was sacked after tackling a shoplifter trying to steal a bag of Easter eggs should be reinstated and handed a bonus, according to the Conservatives.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the supermarket chain had acted “disgracefully” by dismissing shop assistant Walker Smith, a long-standing employee who had worked at London’s Clapham Junction branch for 17 years.
Mr Smith, 54, claims he was sacked two days after confronting a shoplifter who was attempting to steal the chocolate eggs, leading to a brief struggle before the shoplifter fled.
The employee told The Guardian that after one of the bunnies broke into pieces he picked up a chunk and threw it towards shopping trolleys in frustration, not aiming it at the shoplifter.
Mr Smith said he was told off by his manager and apologised, but the issue was escalated.
Waitrose has said that reporting of Mr Smith’s case, based on an interview with the newspaper, does not cover the “full facts of the situation”.
Mr Smith told the publication he regretted how he acted, but had been spurred on by watching thefts at the store “every hour of every day for the last five years”.
“When I got home I was punching myself and thinking: ‘Why did I do that,”‘ he said.
In a letter to Waitrose managing director Tom Denyard that Mr Philp shared on X, he called for Mr Smith to be reinstated and given a bonus “for his bravery an initiative”.
He said: “Staff safety must come first.
“But dismissing a long-serving employee in these circumstances sends entirely the wrong message.
“It penalises whose who act, while offenders are left unchecked.
“Of course the police and this failing Government must do more to tackle shoplifting.
“But store staff and the public should be supported and encouraged to intervene as well.
“Otherwise, shoplifting will continue to surge unchecked.”
The incident comes amid a surge in shoplifting, with latest figures showing offences rising by 5% in the year to September 2025.
Waitrose has said the “safety and security” of their workers and customers is the reason they have policies to stop actions such as those of Mr Smith.
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In a statement, Waitrose said: “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.
“The reporting on this does not cover the full facts of the situation.”
Waitrose noted that while it would not discuss Mr Smith’s case specifically, it followed the “correct process”, including an appeals procedure.
