The boss of Iceland has offered a job to the man who says he was sacked from Waitrose for tackling a shoplifter.
Walker Smith, who had been with the supermarket for 17 years, was dismissed two days after getting into a brief struggle with the thief, who was trying to steal Easter eggs.
He told the Guardian he was reprimanded by his manager and apologised, but the issue was escalated, and he lost his job at the shop in Clapham, south London.
Posting next to an article on the story on LinkedIn, Lord Richard Walker, executive chairman of Iceland and the government’s cost-of-living champion, posted: “You’re welcome to a job with us. We even share the same name…”
It’s not known if Mr Smith has responded to the offer.
Lord Walker also suggested in an interview last week that security guards should carry truncheons and pepper spray to deal with the violence they encounter.
The Conservatives have urged Waitrose to reinstate Mr Smith, but the firm said in a statement he had broken rules designed to protect staff from a “serious danger to life”.
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“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,” it said.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp wrote to the company’s boss on Monday and said the sacking sent “entirely the wrong message” and “penalises those who act”.
Marks & Spencer has also called for tougher action on shoplifting – with some stores now forced to security tag items such as chocolate, butter and meat – and staff increasingly facing violence.
Retail director Thinus Keeve warned retail crime was getting “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive” in a letter criticising the government and London mayor Sadiq Khan.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin also wrote to the home secretary following recent antisocial behaviour in Clapham that saw crowds of young people trying to storm shops.
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The Office for National Statistics said last year that more than half a million shoplifting offences had been recorded by police in England and Wales for the first time.
Countless more are believed to go unreported as retailers often say it’s not worth reporting due to perceived lack of action by police and weak punishments.
