Councillor says he tackled 'shoplifter' to ground

A councillor has said he tackled a "shoplifter" to the ground on Remembrance Day in central London.

Conservative Ed Pitt Ford who represents Pimlico North ward at Westminster City Council, said he confronted the man at an M&S Food in Green Park after entering the store to buy dinner.

He said a member of staff had an altercation with someone he claimed was a shoplifter, but the store did not ask police to investigate.

The Metropolitan Police said the case was closed, the victim was not willing to provide a statement and the goods were recovered. M&S was contacted for comment. Westminster City Council declined to comment.

Ford, who said he had training in how to deal with such situations, explained after he stepped in he "put the shoplifter on the ground on the street outside - at which point I realised the staff were not leaving the shop to come and support me".

He said the alleged shoplifter was then helped by either an accomplice or an unwitting member of the public and the councillor then went back inside the store.

"Normally I wouldn't get involved but at this point there was a risk to the shopkeeper having an actual tussle with the person stealing the wine, so I didn't want any harm to come to them," he said.

"The shop staff were uncertain about whether it was worth calling the police but they did, and the police said they would take an hour to arrive at the scene."

Ford claimed the Met's response was poor and although M&S Food did not ask police to investigate, he said the thief left a phone at the scene which could have been combed for fingerprints.

"People who are phone-snatching and you see petty theft, and the staff here have to deal with that on a daily basis, don't feel that support is there from police," he continued.

The Met Police said the investigation was complete and the case was closed.

The force said the victim was not willing to provide a statement and the goods were recovered.

Ford said although policing numbers had increased in the capital, the level of reported crime had jumped as well. He called on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to do more to curb crime in the area.

This could include opening more police stations and providing more local police on the beat in the early mornings and evenings "when you need them most", he added.

A spokesperson from City Hall said it was working in partnership with the Met to tackle shoplifting and the mayor had invested "record amounts" in neighbourhood policing in addition to directly funding 1,300 additional police officers on London's streets.

They added the government's police funding settlement is still being developed and the mayor and the Met were in close contact with ministers.

It comes after the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he could not rule out closing more police stations depending on the outcome of that settlement.

A Home Office spokesperson previously said the Budget had delivered an increase in funding for the Met, with the force receiving a total of up to £3.5bn in funding in 2024-25 in addition to £37.4m provided for the 2024-25 pay award, which has been allocated outside of the police funding settlement.

The Local Government Association found shoplifting was the third most reported victim-based crime in Westminster City in the 12 months to June 2024 with 5,763 incidents recorded.

Met data also showed Westminster had the highest crime rate in the capital, with almost 365 recorded crimes per 1,000 people.

Cmdr Glen Pavelin said the force aimed to maintain two Police Constables and one police community support officer (PCSO) within each London borough at any given time.

"Every effort is made to ensure neighbourhood officers can reach their patrol areas within reasonable timescales to maximise visibility and respond to an incident as quickly as they can," he said.

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