Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to shopworkers he will crackdown on shoplifting and retail violence against them if elected into power.

The prime minister candidate promised this feat when questioned by Morrisons workers at a Swindon branch on how he planned to address the rise in shoplifting and violence, reported the Mirror.

Starmer said: “This is such an important issue. We have to crackdown on it. It’s not just the shoplifting, it’s also the abuse and threats”.

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The party leader then reconfirmed his plans to create new protect those working in retail and shops, as set out in Labour’s general manifesto last week.

Starmer added: “We also need to reverse this idea that anything under £200 that people steal is not going to be actionable.”

His comments come after the current Conservative government was forced to shelve their plans to amend the Criminal Justice bill to make assaults on shopworkers a standalone offence, following prime minister Rishi Sunak calling a snap election for 4 July.

Both the Conservatives and Labour have included proposals cracking down on retail crime in their 2024 general election manifestos.