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15 Jul 2024

The Independent has published its list of the best electric bikes of 2024 after testing a series of folding, hybrid and city e-bikes.

15 Jul 2024

Community groups and other not-for-profit organisations in Greater Manchester can now apply for funding to set up their own bike library.

15 Jul 2024

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of ACT parent company Bira -the British Independent Retailers Association – has met with the new Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds and...

15 Jul 2024

The London Cycling Campaign has teamed up with Lime and Loud Mobility to launch a new £100,000 ‘Share the Joy’ fund to increase cycling within...

2 Jul 2024

We recently reported that a £1 billion damages claim had been filed against Amazon on behalf of retailers selling on Amazon’s UK marketplace for illegally misusing their data and...

2 Jul 2024

In the first of an occasional series of features, we are delighted to introduce you to Ross, an expert trainer in Glasgow, and one of the most recent trainers to join the Cytech family.

1 Jul 2024

ACT member e-Velo is to open a new store in the Royal Arcade in Norwich in July, selling a range of e-bikes from some of Europe's top brands.

1 Jul 2024

Bicycle manufacturers say they are optimistic about the bike industry’s growth prospects, anticipating a boost in sales – supported by a ‘positive impulse’ from the...

1 Jul 2024

Although London has some of the best cycling infrastructure in the UK it continues to lag behind European cities including The Hague and Paris, according to a new global survey.

1 Jul 2024

ACT partner V12 Retail Finance has been announced as the sponsor for the Retailers Category at the BikeBiz Awards 2024, in association with Push.

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Shop owners demand new offence for attacks on retail workers

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

Shop owners have called on the Home Secretary to specifically outlaw attacks on retail workers.

Police

Business leaders from across the retail sector have said the Government should create a new offence of assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker.

Close to 90 bosses, from Aldi UK chief executive Giles Hurley to Charmaine Griffiths, who heads the British Heart Foundation, have written to Suella Braverman saying such actions should be charged as an aggravated offence.

This would bring English and Welsh law in line with the 2021 Protection of Workers Act passed in Scotland.

“This standalone offence would send an important signal that our colleagues will receive better protection in law and act as a deterrent to would-be offenders. This action should be taken without delay,” the letter said.

British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “It is vital that action is taken before the scourge of retail crime gets any worse.

“We are seeing organised gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying stores. We are seeing violence against colleagues who are doing their job and asking for age verification.

“We are seeing a torrent of abuse aimed at hardworking shop staff. It’s simply unacceptable – no one should have to go to work fearing for their safety.

“It’s time the Government put their words into action. We need to see a standalone offence for assaulting or abusing a retail worker, as exists in Scotland.

“We need Government to stand with the millions of retail workers who kept us safe and fed during the pandemic – and support them, as those workers supported us.”

A survey from the BRC found that incidents of violence and abuse towards retail workers nearly doubled in the 2021-22 financial year compared with before the pandemic. Around £953 million was estimated to have been stolen from retailers.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “Our high streets and shopworkers are being let down by a Conservative government that has repeatedly refused to act to keep our streets safe or protect shop workers from appalling abuse and violence, and has cut 10,000 police and PCSOs from town centres and neighbourhoods.

“Labour is calling for stronger action against abuse of shop workers including on sentencing, and we will restore neighbourhood policing and town centre patrols with 13,000 more officers and PCSOs.”

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