Apple and Google are profiting from rise in phone thefts, say MPs

MPs have accused Apple and Google of profiting from multimillion-pound phone-snatching operations that police say are masterminded by organised crime gangs in Britain, Algeria and China.

- Robert Booth

Last year 80,000 phone devices of all kinds were stolen in London alone, up a quarter from 64,000 in 2023. The devices had a street value of about £20m, and iPhones made up the majority.

In evidence to the House of Commons science and technology committee yesterday, the Metropolitan police called on smartphone companies to start disconnecting stolen devices from accessing their cloud services so they were no longer "smart", therefore dramatically reducing their resale value. But "so far they have not agreed" despite being asked to do so since 2023, said Darren Scates, the Met's chief digital data and technology officer.

The Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley said: "Apple and Google continue to make profit and continue to sell more phones because these phones are not removed from the system... You owe it to the customers around the world to implement this immediately. No ifs, no buts, just do it."