Morrisons manager sacked for tackling serial shoplifter launches protest outside his old workplace

Oliver Partridge
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:42:20 +0000

A protest will take place at a West Midlands Morrisons supermarket this weekend as customers rally behind a long-serving manager who lost his job for confronting a thief.

Sean Egan, 46, spent nearly three decades working at the store in Aldridge, near Walsall, before being dismissed following the December incident.

The Wolverhampton resident intervened when a repeat shoplifter turned abusive - an action that ultimately cost him his position.

Mr Egan was left devastated by the decision to terminate his employment after 29 years of service.

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Supporters have now organised a protest at the store to voice their opposition to his sacking - to which the former manager said the nationwide backing he has received has been remarkable.

Sharing details about the demonstration on his LinkedIn page, Mr Egan thanked his local MP, Wendy Morton, for backing his campaign.

“To have the local MP of Aldridge Wendy Morton MP support me, is incredible", he said.

“Thank you to the Aldridge community for making this happen.

“My local customer base in Aldridge have made this happen, a peaceful protest. Appreciate the support more than you will ever know.

“You can question actions, but character always shows through.”

He urged locals to join him outside the Aldridge branch on Saturday at 9am.

He plans to run from the Bilston Morrisons branch to the protest site, with proceeds going to Acorns Children's Hospice.

Lucie Dennis, a former colleague, told the BBC: "Sean was known for being a fantastic manager at Morrisons", describing him as patient and attentive to customers.

"This poor man has spiralled into a state of despair. He needs a job."

Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, also expressed his sympathy with the former manager's situation.

"I'm bewildered by the case," Mr Rowley stated, questioning why Mr Egan faced such consequences for his actions.

The police chief made clear his view that members of the public should feel empowered to tackle criminal behaviour when they judge it safe to do so.

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"If a store manager feels they are able to intervene and they feel they can do that safely, we'd always want people to do that," he explained.

"We want the public to be part of the fight against crime."

The serial shoplifter who cost Mr Egan his job of almost 30 years has now also been named and pictured by police.

Career criminal Daniel Kendall, 36, had been attempting to steal two bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey when Mr Egan bravely intervened.

Mr Egan was subsequently dismissed following a disciplinary hearing for breaching Morrisons' deter-not-detain policy.

The sacking has taken a severe toll on his wellbeing, telling ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I've been in a spiral of depression, in counselling. It's been an absolute black hole of my life."

Mr Egan revealed he had regarded the supermarket chain as "family", yet felt abandoned by them throughout the process.

He pointed to the cost of living crisis and rising prices, arguing that shoplifting contributes to higher costs for consumers and forces businesses to implement preventative measures.

Morrisons said it could not comment on individual cases, but a spokesman told GB News: "We are continuing to take wide ranging action to address the threat of shoplifting or violence in our stores.

"The health and safety of all colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to Morrisons. We have very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect our colleagues and customers from the risk of harm, which must be strictly followed.

"These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers, and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation. We will not ask colleagues to put themselves at risk.

"As a responsible employer, our focus is entirely on taking the correct action to ensure health and safety is maintained at all times."