I saw menace of shoplifting at my mother's chemist shop, says Sunak

RISHI SUNAK today described how he witnessed shoplifting in his mother's pharmacy as he relented to a long-running campaign and agreed to criminalise assaults on store workers.

- Jitendra Joshi

Assaulting a shop worker is to be made a separate criminal offence carrying up to six months' imprisonment, the Prime Minister confirmed in the run-up to an election this year, having previously ruled out such an offence despite calls from retailers and MPs.

Grilled on an LBC phone-in this morning, he said he had seen shoplifters in the pharmacy where he worked sometimes while growing up in Southampton.

"It happened when we were there, and it's an awful thing. I know what it feels like," he said, while stressing they never chased the thieves down the street.