Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has voiced support for a supermarket manager sacked after tackling a shoplifter.
The police boss also encouraged Londoners to intervene to stop shoplifters if they felt able to do so “safely” and were “confident” in their own physical ability to prevent these crimes.
He spoke out amid a surge in shoplifting in London and other parts of Britain.
Sean Egan, 46, was dismissed from his job at Morrisons after 29 years after confronting a repeat shoplifting offender who was reportedly helping himself to two bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
A Morrisons store manager says his life has been completely 'devastated' after he was sacked for confronting a repeated shoplifter.
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 22, 2026
Sean Egan - who had worked in the Aldridge Morrisons in the West Midlands for 29 years - was escorting the shoplifter out of the store when the… pic.twitter.com/hKWTxE4v6C
Mr Egan, who had worked at the store since he was 17, said the shoplifter became aggressive when being escorted outside and spat at him.
"As the store manager, I put myself in a position to protect my staff and customers,” he said.
“There's a lot of pressure in retail to protect the product, to not lose money, as you would in any business and I tried to do that.”
But he was fired by Morrisons which is understood to have a policy of deter not detain for shoplifters.
As the row over his dismissal grew with protests by customers, Mr Egan won support from Britain’s most senior police officer.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark said he “completely” sympathasied with the ex-store manager.
Pressed on whether Morrisons was wrong with its reported rule of deter not detain and its decision on Mr Egan, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I'm bewildered by the case.
“Maybe there is something sensitive behind it that none of us know.
“But on the surface, if a store manager or shopkeeper, if they feel able to intervene and they feel they can do that safely, we would always want people to do that.
“We want the public to be part of the fight against crime."
Sir Mark said members of the public should not “routinely” confront shoplifters.
“Most people don’t feel physically equipped to be able to do that,” he explained.
“But the active citizen is important.
“Policing is not just about policing. Keeping communities safe is all about responsibilities.”
He stressed further: "I would always encourage a citizen, if you feel able to safely intervene and you are confident of your own physical ability in that situation, I would always encourage that because that is what we all need.
“We all want to feel safe.”
Amid the growing reports of shoplifting in London, in some cases people brazenly leaving stores with armfuls of goods, Sir Mark said the number of these offences being prosecuted had doubled in the city in the last year.
Retailers are using new technology to submit reports of shoplifting and CCTV footage instantly after it was piloted in areas like Lewisham and central London.
More stores are also employing security staff, including some Costa Coffee outlets in the capital, to deter shoplifting.
“We have a fantastic relationship with most stores,” Sir Mark added, stressing that many of the big retailers were keen to collect and share CCTV, provide evidence and statements, and support staff when they go to court.
But a small number of stores were not providing CCTV footage, staff statements or paying for them to attend court.
“I’m really frustrated about that,” Sir Mark added.
“I can understand the retailer that doesn’t want to encourage its employees to get into physical confrontation when they are not equipped and trained to do that.
“But if someone feels physically ‘I’m able to do this,’ I would be surprised why retailers won’t support them.”
Morrisons declined to comment specifically on Mr Egan’s case and the incident at the Aldridge store, near Walsall, in December.
But a spokesman said: “We are confident that this matter was investigated thoroughly and that the correct process was followed.
“The subsequent reporting does not reflect the full facts of the situation.”
The supermarket said it had very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect staff and customers from the risk of harm which “must be strictly” followed.
The spokesman added: “These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation.”
