Shoplifting crime wave to hit British supermarkets as 'tax the rich' activists plan 'blatant and despicable' thefts

Marcus Donaldson
Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:47:40 +0000

Activists from Take Back Power are preparing what they describe as their most ambitious shoplifting operation to date, targeting upmarket grocery stores across Britain.

The group, which emerged from the Just Stop Oil movement, intends to seize "essential items" from luxury supermarkets and stage sit-in demonstrations on shop floors over a three-week period.

In preparation for the campaign, the organisation has conducted training workshops throughout the country focused on "non-violent direct action" and helping potential participants understand the arrest process.

The group previously stole food from four British supermarkets last month and subsequently donated the stolen products to food banks.

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Take Back Power has framed its activities as a challenge to wealthy corporations.

"This spring, Take Back Power will be taking on the super-rich, occupying where they play and shop, while taking back from the billionaire-owned corporations that are extracting wealth from ordinary hard-working people and funnelling it to the top 1 per cent."

The group added: "We will be taking back our wealth and our democracy from the rich through non-violent resistance."

Members have previously engaged in high-profile stunts, including defacing the Crown Jewels display case at the Tower of London with fruit crumble and custard in December.

That same month, they deposited horse manure beneath a Christmas tree inside the Ritz hotel.

Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, responded forcefully to the planned campaign, describing it as "blatant and despicable law-breaking being brazenly planned."

He characterised the activists as "nothing more than common criminals and anarchists dressing up their crimes in a pathetic cloak of confected moral superiority".

Mr Philp connected the group's activities to broader economic concerns, telling the Telegraph: "Actions like this, combined with Labour's punishing taxes, simply serve to drive successful people out of the UK – leaving everyone else poorer as we lose both tax revenues and innovation."

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He concluded by labelling the movement's ideology as "the politics of envy" and "a sickness of the mind".

The Metropolitan Police made clear that while the right to lawful protest is respected, criminal behaviour will not be tolerated.

A force spokesman said: "While we respect everyone's right to lawful protest, there is a clear distinction between protesting and blatant criminality. Anyone who engages in criminal behaviour can expect to be arrested and prosecuted."

The warning comes amid heightened concerns about retail crime in the capital. Footage surfaced this week showing hundreds of teenagers, some wearing balaclavas, raiding shops on Clapham High Street last Saturday in a coordinated "link-up."

The incident drew criticism from Marks & Spencer's retail director Thinus Keeve, who accused Mayor Sadiq Khan of being soft on crime.

Adam Hawksbee, Head of External Affairs at M&S, told GB News: “Our colleagues who work in store deserve to go into work each day without fear of intimidation or abuse or harassment, and at the moment it feels like the levels of that harassment, as we said in our piece, are getting worse.

“It's a really complex and systemic problem, which is why we think it's so important that ministers, mayors, police forces and retailers work together on it," he explained.

Retail bosses have urged stronger action against record levels of shoplifting and warned that offenders have grown "more brazen, more organised and more aggressive" in their treatment of employees.

Jo Causon, who leads the Institute of Customer Service, representing 350 UK businesses, said there had been "no real engagement" from ministers on surging high-street crime, which she described as a serious threat to economic growth.

"We've got a workforce that is really frightened about going to work, which is not OK," she said.