Labour's frontbencher says her family shop was repeatedly targeted by thieves

17 October 2023 , 17:00

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The Labour frontbencher said her family were racially abused as the till was stolen from the shop they ran when she was younger (Image: Philip Coburn /Daily Mirror)

Labour's new justice chief has told how her family’s corner shop was repeatedly targeted by thieves.

Shabana Mahmood revealed her experience as she vowed to tackle the current epidemic of shoplifting that is sweeping Britain's high streets. In an interview with the Mirror, the Shadow Justice Secretary described the thefts as a “violation”.

Ms Mahmood, 43, said her family were racially abused as the till was stolen from the shop they ran in Birmingham when she was younger. “It was the first time we had something like that happen,” she said. “Penny sweets is one thing but your till with all the money in it being nicked and being racially abused at the same time was pretty bad.

“My dad actually went out and bought a brand new till. He invested in our till. It got nicked again two weeks later and my dad said: ‘I'm not buying another till.’ We just had a money tray.” Ms Mahmood said her dad told the family, “We're all going to get really good at mental maths” as he insisted: “I am not buying another till because that's a waste of money [if it gets] nicked a third time. That's not happening.”

She added: “So we’d do a quick handwritten invoice. That's what we had to do. My mental maths got really good.” The Labour frontbencher said her family reported the first theft to the police but after nothing happened they decided against calling them the second time.

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The MP for Birmingham Ladywood, who was promoted to be Shadow Justice Secretary last month, said she wanted to stop other families going through the same experience. “All the local business owners are always telling me that that's one of the biggest problems they've got,” she said. “You go into the shops these days, I’ve really noticed it, where everything is behind sort of glass panels. They’ll all say there's no point calling the police.”

Keir Starmer pledged to tackle the scourge of shoplifting at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last week. He vowed to make Britain’s streets safe again as he praised the Mirror’s campaigning on the issue. The Mirror’s Clamp Down on Shoplifting campaign has been calling for the reversal of Tory laws that downgraded the theft of goods worth less than £200 to a minor offence, which has meant that thieves get off with just a fine in the post.

Mr Starmer promised to end the scandal that has effectively decriminalised many incidents of shoplifting if Labour gets into power. He also vowed to introduce a new law so those who attack shopkeepers face tougher sanctions. Labour had already announced plans to put 13,000 extra neighbourhood policing and Police Community Support Officers on the streets if it gets into Government.

Ms Mahmood added: “I really believe 13,000 extra neighbourhood police in this country is going to make a huge difference. It's one of the first things a Labour government will do if we're elected. “It provides communities with reassurance and some more confidence and I guess if there's more police around and someone's shoplifting, then they can be on the ground, providing a response and so people aren't left to feel like they're on their own.”

Shoplifting is estimated to cost retailers almost £1billion a year. The British Retail Consortium has said there were around eight million incidents in the 12 months to March. Police recorded 339,206 cases, with just 48,218 of these incidents resulting in charges.

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Sophie Huskisson